Rogue 2: The Redeemed
by Cloclo2388
Summary: Cleared of all crimes, Ash is now a League trainer, ready to take on the world. But just because Professor Oak is out of the picture doesn't mean there won't be obstacles. Watch as Ash struggles against his past and Team Rocket to show the World what he's made of. Sequel to 'The Rogue.' Smarter/More Powerful Ash. Possible Aura Ash later.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

**AAAANNND Here it is! The long awaited Sequel to the Rogue!**

 **I'm pumped.. are you pumped? You better be pumped!**

 **...well not that pumped... anyways, let's get this show on the road!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON!**

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One month.. The first month of two, in which the second would come at a later time.

One month training with one of the best trainers in the world, a champion no less. For most it would be a dream. For Ash.. it was hell..

Getting up every day at 4:30 AM sharp with the threat of missing breakfast if even a minute late..

Running multiple laps around the Indigo Plateau until you collapsed..

Lifting weights until your arms gave out...

Military type drills with almost no breaks..

Climbing mountains, crossing rivers, hauling bags and bags of supplies..

And that wasn't even the 'special' stuff..

That started with the Hand to hand combat, in which Lance himself was teaching Ash the finer points of martial arts. Needless to say, the boy had a few bruised ribs afterwards. He also showed him how to use all of his senses in a fight, be in hand to hand or a pokemon battle. That wasn't too tough...Ok it was tough at first, but it got better...

Then there was the computer and hack-..err, technology lessons, which always left the young trainer's head hurting and spinning. And it was just the basics, according to Lance anyway..

Lance also showed him how to be more efficient with his weapons of choice as well as broaden his knowledge on other types of weapons. Ash soon found a new love in the crossbow. It's medium to long range and practiced deadly accuracy suited him perfectly. With enough practice, he became a pretty good shot. Of course, he understood the lethal potential of the crossbow and promised himself to only use that potential in an absolute emergency. He made the same promise with his twin blades.

Ash's pokemon also received much of the same treatment as they were coached by Lance's dragons. Afterwards, they pretty much felt the same way their trainer did.. sore...very sore..

Still, as hellish as it was, it was somewhat fun and very rewarding. The most fun, in the young trainer's opinion, was something that Lance introduced him to, Storm riding. And it's just what it sounds like.

Whenever there was a major storm in the area, Lance would take Ash and ride through the currents of the storm using a flying type, typically Dragonite and Charizard. It was all about being one with the wind current. Despite the obvious dangers, it was a huge thrill and was dangerously fun, granted that you didn't lose control. It would also come in handy if Ash and his pokemon ever had to travel through a storm, or battle a strong flying type.

Other than the training from hell, may other things happened in a month's time.

For one, the fiasco with Professor Oak was for the most part kept quiet. All the media and the world knew was that the once renowned man was 'temporarily' removed from his position for 'guarded reasons.'

In reality, the corrupted man was now in a League cell preparing to be sentenced for his crimes. Chances are he would be sitting there for a while as more evidence was brought in against him.

In a way, the chosen replacement researcher was a type of Poetic Justice. Who else but Dr. Igneous, the true pioneer of the Pokedex, can take the position, even temporarily. Granted that he was warned that his research would be strictly monitored for any less that legal actions, but the Doc was cool with it...mostly..

Mrs. Ketchum decided to stay with her son for the time, to make sure that the champion didn't take their training too far. Despite Lance's position, Delia didn't hesitate to rip him a new one if her baby boy got seriously injured... which only happened once, thank goodness, when Ash got a concussion from a nasty punch.

That was the good news, now for the bad.

The world did not stay quiet when they heard that Professor Oak was removed from his position. Despite how crooked he was, the man was still a well loved individual with a huge fan base that included gym leaders, teachers, trainers, and other professors and researchers. Very few were happy to see him go, and there was a huge outcry for justice and information. What happened to the beloved Professor Oak? Was he sick? Had he been hurt? Was the League keeping him hostage?!

It was a nightmare, especially for the champion and the few others that knew the truth.

It was decided at a meeting that once all of the evidence and necessary data had been gathered, which would take some time given the volume of files they had sift through in the old man's archives, they would hold a press conference to explain what had happened.

Another issue that would need to be resolved were the whereabouts of Professor Oak's grandson and Ash's former rival, Gary Oak. Despite sending alerts to the Police stations and Pokemon Centers in Kanto and Johto, the boy seemed to have all but disappeared. No one had seen a trace of him since after the Indigo League. Had the boy followed his father's footsteps and disappeared after a disappointing performance? Lance didn't think so, and neither did Ash.

They would more than likely have to broaden their search to Hoenn and Sinnoh, but it would take some time to get a permit to do so, since it was overseas.

Still, they would do whatever was necessary. Gary had to be found, not only to ensure that he was ok, but to assess what all Oak had done and said to him. Despite the familial relation, the boy could be a key witness into Oak's everyday behavior and illegal activities. If he cooperated anyway..

For now though, that would have to be put on the back burner, because today was an important day.. for Ash anyway. The month of training with Lance was over, and they would be able to start their new journey in the Johto Region. In a way, it would be the boy's first official League journey since the Orange challenge was comparatively small and lesser known.

He looked over his team proudly, with Lance standing nearby. Although he didn't make any new editions to his team, the ones he had had grown by leaps and bounds.

Pikachu was near bullet-speed now with his attacks. He could take more hits and had better defense. He had also perfected grass knot and learned the move Slam, which combined with his other attacks, made his tail near deadly.

Onix finally got his act together and started taking his training seriously. It only happened when the rock snake realized how much he had missed out on due to his behavior and not being able to swallow his pride. That and some humbling losses from one of Lance's younger pokemon. After that, the rock type threw himself into every training session, determined to get stronger. As a result, not only did he grow physically and mentally, but he learned some new tricks as well, such as sandstorm and the beginnings of Iron tail.

Electabuzz and Magmar had become even fiercer rivals as well as best friends. They battled all out daily and it was never the same outcome. As a result, they were two of the strongest of Ash's team.

Magmar's flamethrower could make a water type boil in seconds, and his Lava Plume could practically ruin a grass field. He had also learned sunny day, which only made his fire type attacks stronger.

Electbuzz's thunder could turn a tree into ashes now, and crumble rocks in a single strike. He had upgraded his discharge to a shock wave attack, and received the TM Brick Break, after begging for it for three days.

The others also grew stronger as well, including Charizard, who was already a beast. Gyarados wasn't far behind, wanting to remain in the running for one of the team's strongest.

Mewtwo had also improved during the month, though he was a little more than reluctant for several reasons.

For one, he did not like the idea of wearing the monitoring bracelet. Although the clone understood what it was for and why, that didn't mean he had to like it. It felt like he was at the lab all over again, being watched and observed constantly. Fortunately, Ash was able to calm his temper for the most part, by reminding him that not only were the bracelets only temporary, but he would have one on as well, so the mew clone wouldn't be alone in his feelings.

Another reason, strongly related to the first, was that he didn't like Lance... at all. Although the man had helped in clearing his friend's name and putting the Professor behind bars, it still irked him at how the champion flaunted his power to force him, a Legendary, to wear a binding contraption and be robbed of his privacy and freedom. Even though he had been captured already, he still felt free as Ash let him come and go as he pleased. Now, he didn't have that luxury anymore..

Still, As Ash said, this was only temporary. Once it was proven without a shadow of a doubt that Mewtwo wouldn't harm another human (unless they deserved it), the bracelets would come off. He was already looking forward to that day.

But today was a special day, the last day of training and hopefully the start of a new journey. Ash stood at attention, lined up with the rest of his team. Together, they all looked strong and intimidating, like an unbreakable wall. On either side of the trainer was his psychic friend, Mewtwo, and his black fire starter, Charizard.

Just coming off from their most recent training session, the young League trainee looked disheveled and tired, but still held in his excitement as Lance entered the room. In his hands was a large, rectangular white gift box, which made the raven-haired boy look on curiously.

"Ash," Lance started, "you have certainly exceeded my expectations during this past month. Not only have you grown stronger as a trainer and a fighter, but as a person as well, showing unwavering resolve and maturity throughout this whole ordeal, on and off the training ground."

Ash couldn't help but smile at the compliment. All of his pokemon roared in agreement.

"Now.." the champion said as he stepped forward, "it's time to draw our month together to a close. In this box are some gifts for you as well as some of your strongest pokemon who need some help getting to their final stages."

When he opened the box, everyone was stunned at what was inside...

The first thing that caught their attention was the thunderstone, which made Pikachu squeal with excitement. There was also a Magmarizer, which made Magmar smirk.

Another object Ash noticed was a bracelet with a strange, yet familiar stone in it.

Underneath all of this were what appeared to a new set of clothes and.. a badge?

"I saw that you already had a Electralizer and a metal Coat for your Electabuzz and Onix, " Lance explained, "So I pulled some strings and got you a Magmarizer for your Magmar. The Thunderstone was easy enough to get."

Ash smiled and nodded, deciding not to comment that he already had a thunderstone, "thank you very much." He then picked up the bracelet, "but, what is this?"

Lance smirked, "that is the stone that Igneous has been studying. Turns out that it's a megastone. Now, not much are known about these stone except that, when paired with another stone, they can cause a miraculous change within certain pokemon, like a temporary evolution!"

"Woah..!" Ash said with a hint of excitement

Lance smiled, "More than likely you'll find more stones like this on your journey. It's said that they attract the pokemon they work with, though I don't know for sure."

"Right!" he said as she slipped the bracelet on, right over the tracking bracelet. Not only did it cover it up, but it also looked cooler.

"Now for this," Lance said as he pulled out the garments, the last items in the box. It was a black shirt, black cargo pants with blue lining the pockets and edges, a sleeveless blue jacket that seemed like it would end just as his hip, and a new pair of shoes to match. Topping it all off was an official League badge, showing that he would indeed represent the Pokemon League.

"nice.." Ash said as he looked it over.

"one thing though.." Lance said as he put on a serious face, causing the young trainer to blink, "what is it?"

Lance said, nothing, except pull out a pair of pointed scissors and a comb from some pocket no one ever sees. It only took Ash a few seconds to catch on and back up in a panic as he grabbed onto his growing pony tail, "oh no... no no no no no... Lance come on.. i-is that really necessary?" he said with more than a little apprehension in his voice.

The champion just nodded, "We actually should've cut it at the beginning of the training, but I decided to put it off." he said as he approached the slowly retreating Ash, "think of it as another step from your life as a rogue. New life, new journey, new clothes, and new hair cut!" he said with a happy smile on his face.

Ash just groaned. He had grown attached to his pony tail and didn't want to cut it, but he knew he couldn't get out of it. Despite how fast he was, he was no match speedwise for Lance or his blasted dragons, so running was out. With a heavy slump of his shoulders, he nodded.

Lance just chuckled as he reached him and began to comb through the tangled mess, "be happy I'm not giving you a military style cut. That's what most of the other League trainers have to get when they start their training." he said as he began to snip away at the boy's hair. Within a few minutes, he was done, a six-inch ponytail now resting in his hands. A few more snips here and there, and he was done.

"Something's still missing though.." Lance said as he brought out something else from his cape.. a hat. It had the same design was similar to Ash's old League hat, but with a different color scheme. Where the original was red, this one was black, the white area was not blue, and the green 'L' was now black as well.

As soon as it was placed on his head, Ash felt a strong sense of nostalgia, which only got stronger once he was handed a mirror. To his surprise, he looked almost exactly like he did when he had left Pallet Town for the first time, only slightly older and more mature. All the young preteen could say was "woah.."

Lance could only chuckle as he put his grooming supplies away, "not bad at all, if I do say so myself," he said with a smile, "Oh, and I've also taken the liberty of updating your X-tranceiver. It now shows your real name along with your current title."

The dark-haired trainer blinked before looking down at his X-tran, which was now on the opposite wrist of the mega brace and tracking band. He pushed the info button..

 _'This X-tranceiver belongs to Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town and Indigo._

 _Titles: Pokemon Trainer, Kanto/Johto Pokemon League ACE trainer, Orange League Champion._

 _Age: 11 years, 6 months._

 _This trainer has level II clearance and has permission to carry up to 12 pokemon._

Ash nodded slowly at the information, then raised an eyebrow as he turned to Lance, "what did it mean by 'Level 2 clearance?' "

"Well, there are 4 levels of clearance when gaining access to League files and information, as well as certain areas and resources that would be off limits to most regular trainers," Lance explained, "Level I is the regular every day trainer and has the most restrictions. Level II are League ACE trainers such as yourself, and Gym Leaders. Level III is reserved for League sanctified Professors and researchers, as well as a few other chosen individuals who work for us, but you don't need to know about that," he said with a small smirk, "And lastly, Level IV is strictly for Elite Four members, champions, and the members of the board themselves, and gives practically free range to whatever information or resources the League has."

Ash nodded as he absorbed the information. By this point, all of his pokemon had gathered around him, looking somewhat anxious. Pikachu was jumping up and down at the concept of finally being ready to evolve. Poliwrath was bashing his gloved fists together, itching for a fight. Charizard and Nidoking were swishing their tails impatiently, while Electabuzz whirled his arms around, making his body spark. They were all waiting for the champion to finish with the formalities and let them travel again. Get the show on the road, damnit!

"Alright then!" Lance smiled, "I believe that's everything.." he then smiled at Ash, "tomorrow, you head to Johto to begin your new Journey. Now, as per tradition, I insist that your first stop be New Bark Town to visit Professor Elm, the regional professor or Johto." he said, then frowned, "just a heads up though, Professor Elm is a former student of Professor Oak, so I don't know how he'll react to you."

"How would he even know me though?" Ash asked curiously. His name had been kept out of the media other than the league clearing him of all crimes he had been accused of.

Lance just sighed, "like I said earlier, as a regional Professor, Elm has Level III clearance, which unfortunately included access to the initial Police reports. While most of the information is now Level IV, those first reports slipped through.."

Ash retorted with his own sigh, 'It's fine, Lance..I think I remember Dr. Igneous telling me that Professor Oak and Elm didn't see eye to eye." That's when another thought.. a scary thought.. came to him, "wait, does this mean that Dr. Igneous has Level III clearance?" he said with a touch of fear in his voice. He could only imagine what the slightly deranged doc would do with that kind of information.

The Champion chuckled, "Not at the moment, no. We know about Igneous' past. Even though he was severely wronged by Professor Oak, his record isn't exactly clean. Right now, we're keeping him at Level II until we can deem him trustworthy."

The young trainer sighed in relief. He loved the doc, truly, but the man can be scary when he got a hold of some new, possibly 'world changing' information.

"Now, I think its best that you get yourself ready and get a good night's sleep to prepare for tomorrow," Lance said, "and keep in mind your new duties as a League trainer as well as our deal. Depending on how you do in the Johto Conference, we will have another month of special training."

"Right!" Ash said as he looked over his team, "already looking forward to it."

The boy then took the Thunderstone in his hand and looked to one of his smallest team members, who was still jumping up and down in excitement. Ash and Lance couldn't help but chuckle at the little mouse's behavior.

As Ash bent down to Pikachu's level, he held out the stone and asked, "are you ready?"

Without hesitation, the electric type touched the stone, causing his body to light up brightly. As his body grew about a foot in height, his tail also lengthened considerably, still keeping its lightning-like appearance at the end. As the light died down, a powerful looking Raichu now stood in Pikachu's place, smirking as it made its now golden cheeks sparkle, "Rai Raichu!"

"excellent job, Raichu!" Ash said proudly as she stood up, "let's test out your new power," he then pointed to a nearby training target, "use thunderbolt on that target!"

The large mouse smirked and nodded as he powered up, "Rai...CHUUUU!"

The huge bolt of thunder rocketed towards the target and hit it with deadly accuracy, effectively smashing it into pieces. Everyone looked on at awe at the power the little rodent now had. Electabuzz grunted in respect and jealously. He would have to work harder to keep up with his electric rival until the day came that he could finally evolve. It was only a matter of time, they just needed to make a mock trade. Same with Magmar, who had the same thoughts.

As everyone congratulated Raichu on his evolution and power, the two trainers bowed to each other in respect, a sign of a job well done and that their meeting and time together had come to a close for now.

Later that night, Ash looked at himself with his new items and clothes while he was in his room. He had to admit that the clothes looked very nice on him, and he could tell that they were made of a durable material that would allow them to last against pokemon attacks.

He then stared at his new Mega Bracelet and the stone inside of it. The key stone. He then looked at the stone that had been found with that one, a Mega stone. According to one of the League experts and Lance, a Mega stone will attract whatever pokemon it reacts with. Apparently, this particular stone was for a pokemon that Ash didn't have yet, a Tyranitar. It was a rare, and sought after Pseudo-Legendary pokemon that only lived in select places in the Johto region. It was also notoriously hard to train due to its terrible temperament and destructive streak.

Still, with this stone in hand, and with all of that information, it only made Ash want to catch one that much more. He was determined to find on during his time in Johto. Hopefully he would find some more Megastones during his time as well.

Then boy then let out a small sigh as he spied the tracking bracelet hidden under the silver Megastone holder.

 _'What fun to be watched like a hawk 24/7.. no better than at that damned lab..'_ A familiar voice said in his head, making Ash groan.

"Mewtwo, come on. We've talked about this.."

 _'Yes yes, I know.. it's only temporary.. doesn't mean I have to like it..'_ the clone pokemon grumbled, making Ash chuckle softly.

"Yes I know.. I don't like it anymore than you do. Just remember, we're in this together"

 _"...right..."_ was the last thing the young ACE heard before the connection was cut. Ash could only shake his head in amusement as he finished packing his things.

'Food..check. ..clothes..check.. back ups..check...' Ash smiled notstagia, as he remembered that this was the same thing he did the night before he became a trainer. ..before the storm hit.

With a slight frown, he idly wondered what and how Professor Oak and Gary were doing. While the young grandson was MIA, the old man was being held under lock and key until further notice, and probably still sporting some bruises, thanks to yours truly.

As he finished packing his bag, he looked over his pokeballs. According to the information on his X-tranceiver, instead of no limit, Lance had allowed him the capacity to carry up to twelve pokemon, which is what he had been carrying around anyway, so no harm done.

He had already decided to leave Poliwrath, Electabuzz, Crobat, and Gyarados here, and take the rest with him. He would switch them out later as needed and to keep their training up. Mewtwo had his own special slot, and since he wouldn't be used in regular Pokemon battles ,he was not counted among the twelve.

But for now, he felt he was ready.

They had trained with the best, now it was time to truly show Johto, and hopefully the world, who Ash Ketchum was ..

Not a thief, and no longer a Rogue, but a Pokemon League accredited ACE trainer with enough strength to wreck an entire Team Rocket scheme and come away smelling like roses.

Oh yea, he was definitely ready. But the question was.. was the world ready for him?

Only one way to find out. Tomorrow, Johto awaited.

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 **AAAAAAANNNNDD DONE!**

 **For some reason, this was a tough one to write. Hopefully it turned out ok.**

 **It's mostly just a prep and hype chapter to get you guys ready for more.**

 **If I left anything out, please let me know so I can fix it! :/**

 **Reviews and comments appreciated. Flames will be struck down with Thor's hammer.**


	2. Chapter 2: New Beginnings

**AAANND Here we are.**

 **Chapter two of the Rogue 2... my my my..**

 **Well, let's get started, In this chappy, Ash will make his debut in Johto and meet Professor Elm.**

 **How will the first meeting go off? Let's watch!**

 **Just a warning that this is a pretty easy going chapter, nothing really unpredictable until the end. Johto will mostly follow the anime timeline with the exception of a few Manga pieces here and there, mostly for the Team Rocket parts.**

 **So yea, let's ease on into this**

 **DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON. IF I DID, ASH WOULD HAVE A FULL KALOS TEAM BY NOW!**

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As Ash and Charizard flew over the forests that bordered Kanto and Johto, the boy smiled serenely as he thought back to the send off that Lance and his loved ones gave him.

A heartfelt hug from his mother.

A strong handshake and 'brohug' from the Doc.

And, surprisingly, one more gift from Lance..

A retractable crossbow that could easily fit into his backpack, and spring to full form with the push of a button.

The champion had also informed him that Rocket activity had been increasing in the Johto area as of late, and to keep his eyes peeled at all times. It seemed as though that organization would never die. It was like a Hydra from Roman Mythology: cut off one head, only for two of three more to grow in its place.. a vicious cycle.

Anyways, back to the present. Ash was now on his way to New Bark Town, the place where many trainers in the Johto region first start their journeys. 'The place where new beginnings blow.'

The young ACE could only chuckle at that. Cheesy as it was, it made a lot of sense, and held a lot of inspiration for many beginning trainers.

Seeing that they were getting close, Ash patted his shiny starter on the back, "Let's land here, bud. I want to walk the rest of the way. Besides, you might scare the locals," he said with a light chuckle, causing Charizard to laugh with him.

Once they had landed, the young pre-teen recalled his faithful starter and called out Raichu and Lucario to walk with him. "Let's go guys, New Bark Town's just past these trees."

They both nodded and followed their trainer through the relatively thick forest.

They were about five minutes into their walk when Lucario stopped short. Observant as they were, Ash and Raichu were quick to notice, "hmm? What is it, Lucario?"

At first, the black jackal didn't respond as it stared into one direction to the side of them, unmoving. Then suddenly, he took off in the direction he was staring at, giving little warning to his companions as he made a beeline for the strange yet powerful signature he felt.

"Lucario!" Ash yelled in surprise and concern, before taking off after him, using his parkour skills to keep up in the thick forest. Raichu wasn't far behind, using his small size and his quick attack to zip through and under the trees.

After about 3 minutes of chase, Lucario finally came to a stop at a pristine looking lake, but it wasn't the pure water he was interested in..

"Lucario!" Ash said as he finally caught up, only slightly winded, and a little bit peeved off, "what's the big idea running off like..that..." he trailed off when he saw what had his fighting type's attention. Within seconds, Raichu brought up the rear as he burst through the bushes. After gaining his bearings back, the electric type went wide eyed at what he saw..

In the middle of the lake, seemingly standing directly on the water's surface, was one of the most beautiful sights any of them had ever seen. It was a dog-like pokemon completely surrounded by an array of light. From what Ash could tell, it had a large, gem-shaped headpiece on the top of its head, and two long, thin streamers that seemed to make up its tail. The strange thing was that the streamers seemed to float on the sides of the pokemon, and move as if being blown by an invisible gentle gust of wind.

"Is that.." Ash started, before the pokemon became aware of their presence and bounded away gracefully into the forests, barely making a sound.

"Lucar..." "Rai..." "Yeah.. that was something.." the trainer agreed with his pokemon. 'Still, I could've sworn that I've seen that pokemon somewhere before... maybe in one of Lance's Johto books?'

He couldn't put his finger on it, but it could be move to the backburner for now. "Come on guys.." Ash said as he broke the pokemon out of their thoughts, "can't just stand here all day, we need to get to New Bark." he said as he led them back to the main road. Both of them nodded as they followed him. Still, even as they walked, all three of them were wondering the same thing, 'who was that mysterious pokemon?'

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They arrived in New Bark Town about ten minutes later. Deciding that it would be silly to go to the Pokemon Center since nobody really needed a check up, Ash began to head towards Professor Elm's laboratory using the directions Lance had given him.

He was eager and nervous about meeting the man. Not only was he the region's sanctioned professor, but he was also a former student of Professor Oak. According to Dr. Igneous, there was a small amount of animosity between them, but he really couldn't go by anything the Doc says 100% of the time. In other words, this meeting could go very good or very bad.

Once he got to the right address, Ash noticed that there were some police cars parked in front, and instantly got a little nervous. Having to run away from the police for over a year would do that to you...

Steadying his heart, he took a big breath.

'That's all in the past now..' he mentally reminded himself, 'You're a free man. No one's going to just arrest you on sight.' After taking a few more deep breaths and recalling his friends, Ash strode forward towards the Lab's open doorway.

Upon entering, the first thing Ash noticed was several officers looking around and investigating something in silence. Further back, he was able to barely hear some voices. Deciding to get some info, the ACE stopped a passing policeman, "excuse me. I'm here to see Professor Elm. What happened here?"

The man looked Ash over and snorted, "sorry kid, but you're going to have to come back later to talk to the Professor. Can't you see we're all very busy? Now go outside will ya?" the man said somewhat rudely, thinking Ash was another nosey trainer, and tried to push him out.

The boy glared at the officer and pushed back slightly, "maybe I should've showed you this first," he said as he took out his League Badge, showing that he was an ACE trainer approved and sanctioned by the League. Seeing it, the man looked taken back, "A-A kid like you is a League ACE trainer?" he said almost flabbergasted.

Ash couldn't help but smirk, "that's right," said replied as he put the badge back into his jacket, "now how about some info, huh? I'm sure I could be of assistance."

"O-Of course," the man said, embarrassed, "let me take you to the back. Chief Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy are with the Professor, now."

After a short walk down the hall, they came to a room that held a distraught Professor Elm, a calculative Jenny, and a berating Nurse Joy.

"You should've been more careful! If you didn't have your nose so much in your books and research, this never would've happened!" the nurse yelled.

"I know.. I know!" said an exhausted looking Elm as he sat in a chair with head in his hands, "It's all my fault.."

"Right now, let's just focus on tracking down the thieves and getting the pokemon back," said jenny as she finished making notes, "we're wasting time here!"

It was here that Ash decided to make himself known, and coughed, "excuse me?"

All three heads turned towards him, with Jenny being the first to react. She glared at him and the escorting office, "Carlos, what the hell are you doing? Why did you lead this kid back here?! Unless he's the thief or a witness, I don't want to-"

"Actually, Officer Jenny, I'm a League ACE trainer," he said as he brought out his badge to show her, "I just got into town when I heard there was some trouble. I thought maybe I could help."

The female office stared at the League in a state of temporary shock, before regaining her senses and taking a better look at the badge, 'could be fake..'

After a minute, the woman adapted an impressed look, "huh... its authentic. You must be a pretty powerful trainer to be considered ACE material at such a young age." she commented, "maybe we could use your help."

Hearing this, Ash smiled, "great! So what's the problem?"

Jenny huffed, "Apparently we had a robbery this morning. Someone waltzed in to the Lab and took the starter pokemon Professor Elm had ready for new trainers."

Ash raised a brow, "how was someone able to just waltz in unquestioned?"

To answer his question, Elm piped up, looking sheepish, "I thought it was Nurse Joy.. it sounded just like her.."

"sounded like?" he tilted his head

Joy huffed, "because the man was so deep into his so called research, that he didn't even bother looking up! If he had, he would have seen that it wasn't me!" she yelled, making the man shrink back even more.

"I said I was sorry!"

"Ok, enough.." Ash sighed, then turned to Jenny, "have you or your men found any clues as to who may have broke in?"

The officer shook her head, "nothing concrete. There are two security cameras that we are looking through right now. The first one was right outside the front door , and the other was in the laboratory."

Ash sighed, "doesn't leave much to go on. Don't know many thieves who are dumb enough to use the front door-"

"Sir! We've found something! Looks like a suspicious group walked right through the front door!"

All of the room's inhabitants went wide eyed, while Ash just face-palmed, "I stand corrected. Looks like we're dealing with the dumb kind of thief"

As everyone moved into the room where the surveillance camera, they saw three figures: two humans and a Meowth walking on two legs, entering the lab's door in a 'tip-toe' fashion. A few moments later the same three figures hurried out the lab, with three small pokemon in their arms.

"Chikorita, Cyndaquil, and Totodile!" Elm exclaimed as anime tears fell from his eyes, "MY STARTERS!"

Ash just snorted, he recognized these three, "I know these guys. And I was right about them not being the smartest thieves. They're members of Team Rocket, and they're probably at the bottom of the barrel."

"Team Rocket?!" Joy and Jenny said in alarm. They had heard or the troublesome group and they're ways of stealing and illegally acquiring pokemon.

"Yup," Ash said, as if it was no big deal, "don't worry. I've dealt with these three before. They're a bunch of idiots." He then observed the end of the camera footage, "looks like they headed west. And If I'm right, they haven't gotten far. They're good at making an escape though, so we'll have to hurry"

"Right!" Jenny said as she turned to her men, "I want you all to spread out and make a 50 mile perimeter around the city. Be on the lookout for an adult male with blue hair, an adult female with red hair, and a Meowth."

"YES MA'AM!" They all responded as they headed out, with Jenny and Ash right behind them.

Once outside, Ash pulled out a pokeball, "I'll look for them from the air. I'll be able to cover more ground that way."

"Alright Ash, just be careful, and try not to get yourself in trouble" Jenny warned him, causing the boy to smile, "don't worry, I'll be safe"

That said, he released Fearow, his most silent flyer, and mounted onto his back, "Fearow, we're looking for those Team Rocket idiots. Think you can help me find them?"

"FEAR!"

"Great!"

He then released Raichu, Lucario, Scizor, and Venomoth, "Spread out guys. We're looking for some Team Rocket grunts dressed in white. Start looking west and then outward. Send up an attack flare if you find anything!"

All four nodded and grunt before taking off, with Ash and Fearow not far behind.

"Impressive.." Elm said as he watched the boy command his pokemon and take off into the air.

"Well, he IS an ACE trainer, after all.." Joy said with a small smile.

\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-\

As Ash and Fearow flew through the skies, they kept a sharp eye out for anything suspicious looking.

For a moment, he thought about letting Charizard and Aerodactyl out to help him, but decided against. For one, they were both rare in their own way, and two, neither of them were the quietest of flyers, and didn't really know the meaning of the word stealth.

Still, even without them, Ash didn't forsee too much of a hassle in finding them, "from what I know of those three, they're good at escaping and getting out of sticky situations, but they're also a bit slow and tend to get into arguments.. Loud arguments... And those three pokemon weren't in cages or anything when they left the lab so.."

"JAMES! KEEP A GRIP ON THAT THING!"

"WAAAAHHH! ITS BITING ME!"

"WILL YOU TWOS KEEP YA VOICES DOWN!"

'Speak of the devil..' Ash thought with a chuckle as he steered Fearow to zero in on the voices. Lo and behold, in a clearing, with a hot air balloon being filled, were the three rocket stooges, apparently struggling to place an angry Totodile in the cage with the others. Chikorita looked absolutely terrified, while Cyndaquil looked indifferent.

As he watched, Ash couldn't help but chuckle, 'that Totodile's got spunk..'

As he watched, the Big Jaw Pokemon once again bit down on James' arm, making the man wail like a girl.

"Fearow, send up a low powered Tri attack, inform the others where we are" Ash whispered to his Beak Pokemon, who nodded and turned his beak upwards before forming three small balls of energy and sending them upwards, where they explode and make a small firework effect.

Surprisingly, only Meowth noticed it, "what was dat?"

He didn't have time to think on it as James suddenly yelled out, "Meowth! Help!"

"WAAAHHH! GET IT OFF MY HAIR!" yelled a now panicking Jesse as her male partner tried to pry the water type off of her hair.

Ash couldn't help but chuckle and snort as he watched them. It was so hard not to bust out laughing. He used his X-tran to take some candid pictures of them and the pokemon for evidence later.

At that moment, the others arrived just in time to witness the humorous scene in front of them. needless to say, they had a difficult time not laughing.

"Ok guys, shall we make our appearance?"

They all nodded and strolled out of the bushes, calm smirks present on their faces.

"Come on ya stupid ting! In da cage you go!" said Meowth as he grabbed Totatdile's tail and disengaged him from Jesse's hair before swinging him into the cage with a bang. The water type let out a grunt as it hit the back of the cage.

Jesse looked like she was on the brink of tears as she checked her hair. Of course, it only lasted a moment before switching to unbridled rage, "YOU LITTLE BRAT OF A POKEMON! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR MESSING UP MY HAIR!"

"Now that's not very nice, Jesse. Totodile seemed like it really liked you.." said a new yet familiar, mocking voice.

When they turned towards it, they saw a face they hadn't seen in a while and didn't wish to see again.

"Hey! you're the little twerp that messed up our score at Grandpa Canyon!" yelled Jesse

"And da Center job in Viridian a while back!" yelled the Cat Scratch Pokemon.

"That's right" Ash responded, "and as you can probably guess, I'm here for those starter pokemon you stole." He then stepped forward, "why not just hand them over to me..unless.." he pointed to his pokemon who were standing at the ready, "..you would rather deal with these guys.."

All of his pokemon growled menacingly at the clumsy agents, who flinched at the looks they were being given, but stood their ground.

As expected, they didn't listen to reason and wouldn't just give up their catch.

"No way twerp! We're not giving up that easily!" The ever confident Jesse yelled as she readied two pokeballs, "Arbok, Lickitung, send these pests packing!"

"Wheezing, Victreebell! You help too!" Yelled James, right behind her as he always is.

Seeing the predictable reaction, Ash just sighed, "Oh well, your funeral..ready guys?!"

Fearow, Raichu, Scizor, Lucario and Venomoth all grunted in affirmative.

As usual, Jesse was the aggressor, "Arbok, Poison Sting! Lickitung, stun them with Lick!"

"Char!" the snake pokemon called as it shot hundreds of little poisonous needles at Ash's crew, while Lickitung shot his tongue forward, intent on licking them into paralysis.

"Wheezing, Sludge attack! Victreebell, Razorleaf!"

Wheezing poured out gallons of its toxic sludge over the field while Victreebell... decided that chewing on James' head was more fun.

"GAHH! VICTREEBELL! GET OFF OF ME AND USE RAZORLEAF!"

Right after that plea, Victreebell listened and let go of James before shooting a flurry of leaves at Ash's team.

As the attacks neared, Ash gave out his orders

"Venomoth! Stop those needles with gust, then use Bug buzz! Fearow, help him out! Lucario, stop Lickitung's attack with Aura Sphere and follow up with Bone Rush! Raichu, stop that sludge with thunderbolt, then follow up with Iron Slam! Scizor, stop those leaves with Razor wind and hit that fly trap with Night Slash!"

Venomoth and Fearow began flapping their wings furiously, effectively blowing the poison sting attack back towards the snake, who shielded itself with its hood. Venomoth then flapped its wings in a different pattern, causing a horrible sound to be produced and Arbok to writhe in pain as get blasted backwards.

As Lickatung's infamous tongue shot forward, Lucario powered up its own infamous attack and shot it right at the pink creature. The Aura Sphere hit Lickatung right on his offending tongue, making it yelp in pain and retract his tongue. Without pause, the Aura Pokemon shot forward and formed a long staff-like bone, like one his trainer frequently used, and began twirling it around as he barraged Lickitung with multiple hits and smacks.

As Wheezing's sludge poured out of its open mouth towards Ash's crew, Raichu dashed forward and shocked the incoming attack, causing the electricity to travel and shock the poison type as well as cause an explosion. When the smoke cleared, and Wheezing floated out lethargically, it was immediately assaulted by an Iron Tail/Slam combo, pummeling it into the ground, and making a Wheezing sized crater.

As the leaves rapidly came closer, Scizor's claws began to glow white before he crossed them and then slashed them several times, releasing razor sharp, concentrated blades of wind. They not only slashed the leaves to pieces, but they also continued to hit the offending grass type. Without giving it any time to breathe, the red mantis dashed forward with incredible speed, its claws becoming surrounded by dark energy. Just as the FlyCatcher Pokemon had recovered, it was assaulted with multiple Night Slash attacks and critical hits.

As Ash's pokemon each retreated back to their side, the results were this:

Arbork was still conscious but obviously in a lot of pain.

Lickatung was still conscious, but barely, and unable to use its tongue.

Wheezing was conscious but unable to battle as it couldn't even float.

Victreebell was down for the count, on the ground with swirls in its eyes.

Seeing the state of their pokemon, all but Arbok was returned. Jesse then glared down at the cowering cat who was trying to figure out an escape plan.

"What are you doing?! Get in there and stop them!"

"WHHHAAAA! BUT IM TRYIN' TA.. AAHHH!" the poor cat yelled as he flew through the air towards the battle. Resigned to his fate, Meowth unsheathed his claws and put on a brave face, "Alright yous dopes! Taste my Fury Swipes!"

"Arbok! You go too! Underground!" Jesse commanded. The snake immediately complied as it dug underground .

Ash just raised an eyebrow and shook his head at the futility of the attacks, "let them come."

As Meowth approached, rather slowly in their opinion, Raichu merely raised a metal coated tail to block the weak attack

"Huh?!" the feline said in bewilderment as his attack did absolutely no damage. The mouse smirked before sending the cat face planting into to the ground with a Slam..

At that moment, Arbok made itself know as it popped up from under the ground, intent on having Venomoth for lunch. Luckily , the bug type was ready as it smacked the snake with its wing before coating it with stun spore. The effect was nearly instant, as the purple snake froze up, wide eyed, and then fell to the ground like an unbalanced statue.

Seeing her last pokemon down or the count, Jessie finally lost what little cool she had and started to panic, "Arbok, return! Quick!"

Meowth laid still on the ground, groaning softly with his face in the dirt as all of Ash's pokemon stodover it, snickering, "Somebody get da license plate number of dat bus?"

"H-Hey!" James said with some surprising boldness, "Give Meowth back!"

Ash couldn't help but smirk as an idea formed in his head, "certainly..Fearow, if you please?"

The Beak Pokemon smirked as it grabbed Meowth by the tail, eliciting a small yelp, and threw him back at the rockets with enough force to knock them both over.

Seeing the situation turn dire so quickly, The trio decided to make a break for it, "Let's get outta here!"

"Raichu, thunderbolt... 25% power." said the ACE with an exasperated sigh. That should be enough to leave them stunned and not blast them anywhere.

The electric mouse smirked and nodded before powering up, "Raaiiii.. CHUUUU!" The still powerful thunderbolt struck the trio head on, causing them all to spaz out and jolt out of control. One small explosion later, and they were all blackened to a crisp

The trio groaned as the last of the electricity left their bodies, only to look and find themselves surrounded by Ash's pokemon. They all glared at the Rockets, keeping the frozen in place.

"Now then.." Ash said as he stepped forward with some zip ties in his hand, "where do we start.."

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Within a couple hours, Ash had returned back to New Bark Town, with the Rocket trio, and the Starter trio in his possession.

Needless to say, Professor Elm was more than a little happy and relieved, "Wonderful! Now these pokemon can go to good beginning trainers tomorrow, and be in the hands of thieves!"

Joy and Jenny nodded in agreement.

"And on behalf of the New Bark Town Police Department, I'd like to thank you for your services, young man. You have truly earned your title as an ACE trainer." Jenny commented as she saluted him.

"Aww, thanks officer" he said as he scratched the back of his head embarrassedly, "In reality, they weren't that tough.."

"Either way, the pokemon are now safe and sound because of you." Joy said with a sunny smile.

"I wish we could repay you in some way.." Elm said in deep thought.

"No need professor, I was just doing my job" Ash said, "though I would like to get my pokemon looked at and get registered for the Johto League."

"Consider it done!" both Elm and Joy said at the same time.

As the nurse took his pokemon to be healed and checked, Elm escorted the young ACE inside of the lab.

As they made it to the back room, which was... unsurprisingly messy, Elm cleaned off some desk space and got onto his computer, "by the way.. as embarrassing as this sounds, I never caught your name.." The young professor said sheepishly.

The boy chuckled, albeit nervously, 'moment of truth time...' he thought to himself "It's uh.. Ash Ketchum.."

At the mention of his name, the Professor looked at him in slight shock, "...Ash Ketchum.. as in the same Ash Ketchum help expose Professor Oak and remove him from his spot?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Uhhh.. yeah?" the boy said uneasily..

The man just stared at him..

..until...

"HAHAAAAA HAHAHA!" he suddenly bounded from his chair and hugged the surprised boy, "You have no idea how much I've been wanting to meet you! What you did was BRILLIANT! You exposed one of the biggest thorns in the League!" he exclaimed as he danced around, making Ash sweatdrop.

"Heheh.. I'm glad you agree.." Ash said, "but tell me, what did you have against Oak? What did he do to you?"

Elm let out a humph, "That man was one of my teachers in college, and was the bane of my existence! I had straight A's and a perfect score in every class I attended.. until his class.." the man grumbled bitterly

Ash merely blinked before deadpanning, "what he do? give you a B?" he asked, believing the man to be a melodramatic perfectionist.

"No! A C! And he took the idea from my final thesis and used it as his own! The nerve of that man!" he said angrily, making Ash go wide eyed.

"Ouch.. ok.. I understand. I guess I shouldn't be surprised at what that man has done to people.. how come you never came out about it though?"

Professor Elm sighed, "I wanted to, I really did.. but as a student back then, I really didn't have any power, especially when going up against the most influential instructor in the curriculum.." he then sighed and sat back down with a slump, "it wouldn't have ended well for me.."

Ash nodded. He could acclaim to the hell it was when fighting a man that powerful and manipulative.

"But now.. thanks to you and Lance," Elm perked up, "we don't have to worry about him anymore! He's finally getting his just deserts." he then swiveled around the once again face the computer, "well now.. after that revelation, how about we get you registered, eh?"

Ash eagerly nodded and smiled, "that would be great!"

Within moments, Professor Elm had copied Ash's information into the computer and had him registered for the Johto League.

"There we go!' Elm said as he was given the OK, "you're all set!"

"Thanks, Professor. I appreciate it" the boy said as he looked over his registration

"compared to what you have done for me as well as the rest of Kanto and Johto, this is nothing..I just wish I could do more.." it was then that Elm got an idea. "I know! Say, Ash... you're not in a hurry to go to the next town are ya?"

"Umm.. sorta.. why?"

"If you can stick around until tomorrow, I may have a surprise for you!" the man exclaimed

Ash shook his head, "oh no, you don't have to-"

"But I want to, Ash! And I promise, it'll be worth your while!" the man insisted

Seeing no way out of it, the boy sighed and nodded, "alright..I'll stop by tomorrow then. What time?"

"Come around noon. I should have everything set by then." Elm said with a smile, which Ash returned, "alright, noon it is" he said as he headed towards the Pokemon Center to check on his team and get some rest.

He could certainly say that his first day in Johto was eventful. Not only did he solve a crime, but he put some dumb and annoying Rockets behind bars. That made him smiled. However, the smile dropped to a groan when he thought of the written report he would have to make to Lance about what happened, but that can wait until tonight. It was now a little after 4 o' clock, so he and his team could get some evening training in before retiring to bed.

Still, in the back of his mind, he wondered what Professor Elm was planning. What surprise could the man have in store? Unfortunately, the more he wondered, the more he reminisced about his previous experiences about another Professor.. and that was NOT a good surprise. Would Elm stab him in the back like Oak did?

'No..' he thought to himself, 'I can't think like that. I have to leave the past in the past..' he then smiled, 'besides, Professor elm seemed like he genuinely liked me and was grateful for my help. Not only that, but it also seems like he hates Professor Oak as much as I do..'

Those thoughts in mind, the young ACE continued his short trip to the Pokemon Center with no interruptions.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Waking up at 5am and training until almost noon, Ash and his team were now on their way back to Professor Elm's lab.

At the moment, Ash had Gengar hanging out with him as his shadow.. his giggling demented shadow. The ghost hadn't had that much pranking and scaring time, which is supposed to be healthy for a ghost, so the young trainer decided to let him have some fun for now.

It was a quick 10 minute walk back to the lab, and it appeared as though the good Professor was waiting for him.

"Ash!" Elm said excitedly, "I'm glad you made it! On time too! Come on in, I have something for you!"

The smile on the man's face could rival Gengar's, and that was saying something. Despite how slightly wierded out he was, Ash followed the man to one of the lab's rooms. It was a typical lab room with blue tile floors, metal tables and chairs, and multiple monitors up and running. There were also several papers containing random information everywhere.

Ash could only chuckle. The man was many things, but organized wasn't one of them.

In the moment the boy was distracted, Professor Elm had grabbed something and now held it behind his back. When Ash gave him a curious, and slightly worried look, he began to explain.

"Ash, this morning was the morning that I gave out starters to three aspiring new pokemon trainers. Now, from what I've heard, the happiness of your first day as a trainer was robbed of you by Oak. Now, I may not be able to undo what was done that day, but maybe I can do a one upon old Oak."

His statement caused Ash to blink and tilts his head, "what do you mean?"

Elm chuckled, "you see Ash.. today I only had two trainers come to pick up their starter pokemon. There was a third scheduled, but last week I received a call saying they had decided to start their journey in another region. SO.." he then brought his hand from behind his back, "I have one left.. and no idea what to do with him since no more trainers are due for a while..."

It was then, as the Professor was explaining, that things started to click in Ash's mind, "wait.. you don't mean.."

Elm just smiled and nodded, "that's right. I'm giving this one to you! It's all good and well anyway, since this little guy is a bit more aggressive than the average starter and probably wouldn't have done well with a novice trainer anyway," he said as he held the pokeball out, "well, go on! Take it!"

With that confirmation, Ash gingerly took the pokeball from Elm and smiled, "I think I know who this is.." he said as he thought back to yesterday's battle, how a certain water type wouldn't go quietly.

"Come on out!" he called as he released the pokeball, showing that he had guessed right.

"Totodile!" the little blue croc thrusted his short arms in the air as he showed off his oversized jaws. As it looked around, it saw Professor Elm and the boy from yesterday, the one that helped save them from those idiot thieves.

It was then that the boy got down on one knee in front of him, "Hey Totodile.. not sure if you remember me, but my name's Ash. I help you and your friends out yesterday."

At this, the little water type nodded, signaling that he remembered.

"Well, Elm decided that I would be the best trainer for you. But first I want to ask you your take on it," he explained, then smirked, "so tell me, do you want to get stronger? Maybe evolve into a powerful Feraligatr one day?"

The question made Totodile pipe up and nod rapidly. That's all he ever wanted, to be the strongest of its kind, and he didn't think going with a new trainer would get him to his goal. Obviously though, the boy in front of him was not a new trainer, but one with some experience under his belt if yesterday was anything to go by.

"Totodile Totodile!" he said excitedly while jumping up and down, making both Ash and Elm chuckle.

"That's what I like to hear!" Ash said, only to be followed by a creepy chuckle as his 'shadow' came to life.

"Gah!" Dile!" yelled and jumped backwards in a panicked fashion, making the shadow chuckle even more. At that moment, the water type showed off its more violent side as it growled tried to bite the evil shadow several times with its large teeth, only for the attack to evaded every time.

Ash, however, just groaned, "Gengar.."

With a demented giggled, the ghost type showed himself to the Professor and pokemon.

"Sorry about that, guys," Ash apologized, "Gengar likes to play scare pranks on others."

"heheh.. i-it's fine.. " Elm said, obviously still nervous around the ghost type, "a-anyways, what do you think, Ash?"

The boy just smiled, "I think he's perfect! Lots of spunk and determination. A bit of a temper, but that's something we can definitely work with. He'll fit right into my team!" he then turned towards the Professor and bowed respectfully, "thank you so much for giving him to me."

The man just chuckled and waved him off, "after all you've done for me, it's the least I can do. And like I said, Totodile would do best with a more experienced trainer like yourself, so this way, you'll both be happy!"

The ACE trainer nodded, before turning to his newest team member, "well Totodile, you ready to train and get stronger?"

"Totodile!" he said excitedly ,doing a little jig. Ash couldn't help but laugh at the little guys antics, "excellent, just what I wanted to hear!"

That said, he took the water type's ball and returned him for now. He then turned back towards the Professor, "I promise you, Professor Elm, that Totodile is in good hands. I'll take great care of him."

"Never a doubt in my mind, Ash. All I ask is that you go out there and show the world what you can do! And show them the mistake that blasted Oak almost made!" Elm said passionately as he clenched his fist.

"Right! That's exactly what I plan to do!" The boy responded with just as much passion.

With all business done, the two exchanged goodbyes and numbers before Ash once again headed out. It was only 2 o clock so he felt he could still make some travel time.

"Good Luck Out there, Ash! Take Care!" Elm yelled as he left.

"You too Professor!" Ash yelled back with a chuckle, now heading on the road out of town. According to the X-tran, the next gym was in Violet City and specialized in Flying types. That in mind, The young ACE headed down the road with some pep in his step, excited to officially begin his first journey as a free boy and not a wanted criminal. 'This is gonna be so Awesome!'

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Day two started early enough as usual. The first thing Ash did was get acquainted with his newest pokemon. The little water type was definitely full of spunk and eager to begin training.

 _ **'Totodile:**_ _The Big Jaw Pokemon._

 _It is small, but rough and tough. It won't hesitate to take a bite out of anything._

 _This Totodile is male and knows the moves:_ _ **WaterGun, Bite, Scaryface, and Scratch**_ _. It has the egg move_ _ **'Water Pulse'**_ _which has not been unlocked yet._

That info in mind, they started light to moderate training that morning, just enough to get the little guy a taste of the rigorous training schedule that all of his pokemon went through.

Not surprisingly, Totodile got along great with his other pokemon, with the exception of Gengar and Charizard, whom it was wary of. One scared it half to death, and the other was just.. intimidating.. That and his short temper also made him the target of many ghostly pranks. Still, Ash was confident that they would warm up to each other eventually, so he didn't worry about it.

Right now, he was on the road to Violet City, where he would earn his first Johto Gym badge. As he walked, he was already thinking strategy based on the Gym Leader's supposed type, 'Let's see, I think i'll start off with Venomoth, let the Gym Leader get cocky from the type advantage. Then if he goes down, I'll have Fearow and Raichu waiting, depending on the vs number. Not sure if its 2v2 or 3v3 yet..'

"Come on Chikorita! Batter up!" a random voice called out, breaking the ACE out of his thoughts. After looking around for a second, he saw something that made him almost chuckle. A young girl, more than likely a beginning trainer, coaching her pokemon in a battle against a Ratatta. She had blue hair and brown eyes, and was wearing a white shirt and shorts under a yellow baseball jersey with the insignia of the Electabuzz on it. She also had a matching baseball cap. The humorous part about this was that she was using baseball language the entire time.

"Alright, Chikorita. Let's go for a home run! Use tackle on that Ratatta!"

"Chika!" the little pokemon, whom Ash now noticed had a headband that matched the girls's uniform, sprinted towards the purple rat and tackled it into a tree, earning the knock out.

"alright! Pokeball Go!" she yelled as she threw the ball pitcher style, hitting the Ratatta and successfully capturing.

"Woohoo! Another win for Team Casey and the Electabuzz!" she yelled as she and her grass starter danced around, making Ash chuckle softly.

Unfortnately, his soft laughter caught the attention of the girl mid-celebration, and she turned to him abruptly, glaring at him.

"Hey! What's the big idea sneaking up on us like that! Don't you know how dangerous it is to sneak up on an Electabuzz fan?!" The girl, whom he guess was named Casey, yelled as she pointed at him.

Immediately, The young male backed up with his hands in front of him, still struggling not to laugh, "Hey! no harm done! I didn't mean to sneak up on you"

The yellow clad girl looked him up and down before standing up straight and crossing her arms, "humph! I'll let you off with a warning this time."

"why thank you, merciful young lady" Ash said as he mock bowed to her, finding it very hard not to laugh.

Casey nodded, seemingly satisfied. Deciding to strike up some conversation, Ash asked her, "So, are you a beginning trainer? Just starting out?"

"Yep!" Casey nodded, "And I'm gonna be the very best! Just like my favorite team, the Electabuzz!"

Now Ash had to really... really, try hard not to laugh. It was no secret that when it came to baseball, the Electabuzz were one of the worst teams out there, being at the bottom of the bracket every year. Thank goodness for those 'control lessons' Lance gave him, or he would've lost it.

"W-well that's a great goal. Never give up trying to be your best!" He said to her, then held out his hand, "my name's Ash by the way."

"Casey!" he said as she gave him a mighty handshake, "nice to meet ya! Are you a trainer too?" she asked as they broke the shake.

"yup! on my way to Violet City!" he responded.

"In that case.." the girl said as a smirk formed on her face, "How about a battle!" she pulled a pokeball from her belt and enlarged it, further getting the point across.

"what?!" Ash exclaimed, "Umm.. that may not be a good idea. "I've been a trainer for going on 2 years now.. I have a lot more experience than you do.."

"So?!" She cut him off, "The Electabuzz never gives up or throws in the towel, not even when the stakes are stacked against them! If I want to be the best, I gotta battle the best!" she clenched her fist, "come on! Or are you too much of a coward!"

The boy frowned, but kept his emotions in check. Ash was many things, but a coward wasn't one of them. With a small shrug, he pulled out a pokeball, "alright.. don't say I didn't warn you.."

Within a few moments, they had spread out to a sizable distance, giving whatever pokemon they released ample room to run around and fight it out.

"3 on 3 good?" Casey called out.

"Sounds good to me. If you don't mind, I'll send my pokemon out first. He needs a good battle." Ash responded as pulled out a pokeball. He then released his newest edition, Totodile. The Big jaw Pokemon looked excited to finally be in a real battle and put on a glare towards his opponent.

Upon seeing the water starter, Casey adapted a confused look, "wait.. I thought you said that you were an experienced trainer. Why do you have a Johto starter?"

Ash just smiled, "Sharp girl. And to answer your question, Totodile was given to me by Professor Elm after I did him a big favor. He was given to me yesterday so this will be his first battle."

"Awesome! This will be my first battle too!" The girl said excitedly

"You don't say.." Ash said with a chuckle, even though he figured as much.

"Alright!" She said as she wound up and pitched her first ball, "Pidgey! Batter Up!"

In a flash, the bird pokemon appeared, flapping its tiny wings as it prepared for battle.

Ash merely nodded. Pidgey was a typical pokemon beginners tended to have. He then smiled and nodded to her, "I'll give you the first move!"

Casey smirked, "your loss! Pidgey, your turn at bat, useTackle!"

In a flash, the little bird came in hot, going straight for Totodile. Both Ash and his pokemon watched Pidgey come in to land its attack. Once it was close enough, Ash called out, "Scary Face!"

Totodile seemed to smirk before twisting his face into a terrifying version of itself, making the poor Pidgey stop mid flight and freak out before frantically flying back to its trainer.

"Don't give in Pidgey, throw them a curve ball with gust!"

Pidgey nodded before turning back towards Totodile and flapping its wings, producing a strong gust of wind that swept over the entire area.

Ash was actually a little impressed with the strength of the attack, but refocused himself on his pokemon, "On all fours, stand your ground!" he ordered. Totodile nodded before flattening himself to the ground to lessen the damage of the gust.

"Ok, Pidgey, slide for the base with sand attack!" Casey called out. Upon hearing the command, Ash's eyes widened. That's a pretty good strategy for a beginner..

"Totodile, close your eyes!"

Totodile was able to close them in just in time, but not before sand got through. The little starter yipped as he tried to clear his eyes out.

"Alight! Time for a home run!" Casey called out, confident that this round was hers, "finish with Tackle!"

Once again the bird came at them with decent speed. As Ash watched, he smirked, "Totodile, listen up! Calm yourself!"

Listening to Ash, Totodile snorted calmed down, though not immediately. Since he couldn't see he would have to trust his trainer, though it was obvious that it was tough for the antsy water type, and he wanted nothing more than to chomp at that damned bird.

Little did he know, he would get his wish.

"Totodile, listen up! Your gonna have to trust me on this one!" Ash called to his pokemon. Though slightly hesitant, the water type nodded. He would trust his trainer.

Just as Pidgey was coming in for the kill, Ash called out, "Now, open wide!"

Hearing that, Totodile smirked and opened his oversized jaws. Pidgey, who was coming in too quickly, couldn't stop its momentum in time and flew right into his opponent's mouth, which clamped shut on impact.

"WHAT?!" Casey yelled, unable to believe what she was seeing. Was Totodile eating her pokemon?!

The water type excitedly shook his head around in a Bite attack before spitting the offending feathered menace out. Once out, it was clear that Pidgey was too dizzy and stunned to continue.

"Pidgey Return! Hit the showers!" Casey said as she returned her pokemon, before glaring at Ash, "That was a dirty trick!"

"What's so dirty about it?" he asked as he crossed his arms, "he's called the Big Jaw Pokemon for a reason. His bite is his strongest feature."

Hearing this, the girl growled, "Whatever, you won't strike out my next pokemon out. Ratatta, batter up!"

The little purple rat pokemon appeared, surprisingly ready to battle.

After a quick observation, Ash nodded to Totodile, who has cleared its eyes out and was still ready to go, and got ready for round 2, " I think I'll take the first move this time. Okay Totodile, water gun!"

The starter nodded and inhaled before letting loose a watergun attack.

"Dodge that!"Casey called to her pokemon, who managed to dodge the main attack but was still scrapped and took damage. "Alright, hit a runner with tackle!"

Ratatta complied and ran forward towards the blue croc, intent on taking it out.

"Meet it head on with scratch!" Ash called out. He could've easily ended the battle with a well placed repeat of water gun, but decided against it. One, it would break the poor kid's spirits, and two, he wanted to keep it interesting and give Totodile a workout.

As the purple rat approached, Totodile's tiny claws started to glow as he came down onto the rat with his attack. Both attacks met head on and resulted in a temporary stand-off. That is, until Totodile turned up the power and pushed his attack through, sending the Ratatta sliding backwards.

"We're not out yet, Rattata ,hit it out of the park with Hyperfang!"

Again, Ratatta went dashing towards his opponent, only this time with his mouth agape and his sharp front teeth gleaming.

Deciding that they didnt want to get hit by that, Ash decided to wrap it up, "on my command.."

Hearing that, Totodile readied himself for the next command, although he believed he knew now what was next. Just as Ratatta was on them.. "Water gun!"

Almost instantly, the rat was blasted back by a barrage of water, and slammed into a tree. It didn't get back up.

"Darn it! Ratatta, return!" Casey grumbled.

"Do you want to continue?" Ash asked her, "Your last pokemon is Chikorita, right? You would have the type advantage.."

"Huh? Oh yeah, your right!" she said happily. Now was her change for a comeback, "Chikorita, you're clean-up, ready?!"

"Chika!" the little grass type hopped up and down before heading to the field.

The starters glared at each other for a moment, sizing each other up. Totodile, smirked and snorted, while Chikorita growled in response.

"We'll swing first! Chikorita, Razor Leaf!"

"Chika!" the little Leaf Pokemon yelled as it sent a flurry on razor sharp leaves towards Totodile.

"Knock them down with Watergun, then use Bite!" Ash called.

Totodile nodded and sent another torrent of water at the leaves, knocking them out of the air and scraping Chickorita in the process. It then ran forward with its mouth already chomping, ready to bite into something.

"Chikorita, dodge that!" Casey called in a panicked fashion. Shaking the water off of himself, the grass type eeped! as it saw the incoming teeth of Totodile aimed straight for it. It managed to dodged the initial attack, but couldn't dodge the follow-up as Totodile bit down on its prized Leaf.

"CHIKA!" It screeched as it ran around, looking absolutely panicked as Totodile help onto its Leaf painfully. Casey looked even more panicked now and at a loss of what to do. Even Ash had to wince in sympathy for the poor little guy.

"Get it off of you, Chikorita! Throw a slider and slam it to the ground!" Casey called out, worried about her starter.

And he did just that. It began slamming the water type to the ground repeatedly to get it off of him.

"Totodile, disengage, NOW!" Ash commanded, using a more forceful tone to get its attention off of biting.

It seemed to have done the trick, as Totodile let go of the now damaged leaf. Needless to say, both pokemon looked very dizzy, with the water type being slammed to the ground multiple times, and the grass type now having a serious headache.

Trying not to laugh at their predicament, Ash called out, "Yo, Totodile, can you keep going?"

Hearing his trainer's voice, the Big jaw Pokemon shook his head free of cobwebs and nodded, "alright then, Scary face! "

"Dile!" he said with a smirk as it appeared in front of Chikorita and growled menacingly, twisting his face into a downright creepy image.

"Chika!" the poor grass type yelled in fear.

However, this time, the attack backfired, as the Leaf Pokemon instinctly let loose a barrage of Razor Leaves at the water type at close range, sending it backwards.

"DILE!"

"TOTODILE!" Ash called, both worried and surprised from the sudden attack. He was then surprised again, when his pokemon slowly got back up.

"Alright!" Ash praised his newest pokemon, "way to go- huh?" he stopped short when he noticed that something was.. off about Totodile. When it looked back up at it opponents, the rage in his eyes was obvious..

..It was angry..

..No, screw that, it was Pissed! Beyond pissed!

With a deeper than normal growl, the water type lunged at his opponent, ready to take them out for good.

"Totodile, STOP!"

Screw what his trainer says. For that cheap shot, that walking leaf's gonna PAY!

Poor Chikorita was frozen in place, unable to move.  
"Chikorita, Look out!"

"Totodile, Return!"

Just as the water type was about to thrash Casey's pokemon, it was engulfed in a red light and sucked back into his pokeball.

Ash stared at the ball as a heavy sigh escaped his lips. He then gave Casey a smile, "sorry about that. Like I said before, Totodile's my newest pokemon, so I haven't had time to iron out all of his quirks."

"What do you mean?" The young baseball fan asked out of curiosity. The ACE smiled and stepped towards her

"See, another reason that Elm gave me Totodile, was because it's stronger and more temperamental than a regular starter. Thus would be too hard to handle for the average beginner."

"Ohhh.." she said, before blinking , "Oh! should we continue the battle?"

Ash chuckled and shook his head, "nah, your pokemon are all pretty tired, see?" he said as he gestured to Chikarita, who appeared to be curled in a ball, asleep at their feet. "Remember this. In a battle or when training, the pokemon always come first. They're not machines, they're living, breathing creatures with feelings. Even the strongest ones have their limits."

The young baseball fan smiled and nodded as she picked Chikorita up in her arms, "I'll remember that.. but.. how will I know if they've reached their limits?"

"Well, that's part of the job of a trainer, isn't it?" he answered with a smile, "Knowing your pokemon inside and out, to the point that you can spot them in a crowd of their own kind. The best way to do that is to bond with them and be friends with them. You're not just their trainer, you're their friend."

Casey nodded rapidly as she took to heart everything Ash was saying. She wasn't naive or cocky enough to not take advice from a more experienced trainer, especially one as nice as Ash.

"Thank you so much, for the advice and the battle. It was so awesome! and I don't even feel bad that I lost. Just gives me the motivation to keep on trucking! Just like the Electabuzz do!" she exclaimed while pumping a fist into the air.

"Good attitude!" Ash said with a chuckle, "Keep that up, and you'll be winning battles left and right in no time!"

"Alright!" she yelled to the sky as she energetically grabbed her bag, "I'm gonna go start right now with what you said, training and bonding with my pokemon." She then ran up to him and gave him a quick hug before running off, "Bye Ash, SEE YA! I'LL BEAT YOU NEXT TIME WE MEET!"

"Looking forward to it!" he yelled back with a wave, laughing. Definitely an energetic and somewhat comical young lady there. Still, she seems smart, and she had some good strategies during their battle.

"She could go far as a trainer if she toned it down a bit.." he said to himself with a smile, which melted to a frown as he looked down at Totodile's pokeball, "now what are we gonna do about that temper of yours.."

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Far away, in a black building that rested in a canyon about 30 miles west of Viridian City, an executive meeting was being held.

Four figures sat at a table as a slideshow plays in front of them, showing progress in Kanto and Johto

The first Figure was a man with turquoise hair, and sharp blue eyes. He seemed to wear an evil smirk on his face at all times as he watched the information in front of him. He was also wearing a custom Team Rocket uniform, fitted for his style. It looked mostly like a regular grunt except the edges and the red R on his chest were outlined in gold.

The Second figure was also a man, who wore an aged look of indifference on his face. He had short purple hair done up in a smooth mohawk-like style, and a purple goatee to match. He also wore a custom Team Rocket uniform that had more zippers for openings, as well as a lab coat over it. The man sighed to himself as he watched and listened. Frankly, he was just happy to be out of jail after the Game Corner went south.

The third figure was a female. She appeared to be in her late 20s or early 30s. She had shoulder length hair done in a upturned curl style, and a long skirt uniform that was almost completely white with the exception of a black undershirt. She seemed to watch the slideshow with interest as she occasionally peeked at her co-workers with slight distaste.

The fourth and last figure at the table was male as well. He had the appearance of strictness and a no-nonsense attitude. He appeared to be in his late 30s, with short light blue hair and piercing black eyes. Like his female co-executive, his uniform was also completely white, and had the appearence of a suit more than a Rocket Uniform.

"In summary, Kanto region operations are going smoothly with the exception of Viridian City and Saffron City. We are still recovering from the loss of the Gym, and are unable to move into Saffron as long as Gym Leader Sabrina remains in her current state of non-compliance."

The first mentioned executive, Proton, scoffed, "That psychotic bitch has always been a thorn in Team Rocket's side. It's high time we got rid of her."

The purple haired executive, Petrel, turned to him, "Do you know of a way to get past her without her mind-raping you? Even with the Dark Gems that Giovanni supposedly used to fight Mewtwo, it's near impossible right now.

"That is something we will have to put off for another time," The female executive, Arianna, spoke up, "we have other pressing matters to attend to!"

"Agreed," The last, and highest ranked executive, Archer, said, "we must move our operations in Johto along before the League catches on to us. They are already on to us here in Kanto, and we don't want to end up where Giovanni is, now do we?"

They all nodded and motioned for the presenter to continue.

"Ahem. As for Johto. We have several missions underway and are setting up bases in within the vicinities of Goldenrod City, the Whirl Islands, and Mount Silver, all of which should be fully operational within the next 6 months."

"Make it three months," Archer said.

"Sir?"

"You heard me.. three months.. we cannot take any risks of police or G-men finding out, so the sooner the better." He said, leaving no room for discussion.

"Y-yes sir. All three bases will need more manpower to get the job done."

"Take as many men as you need. Just make sure that none of them are foolish enough to get themselves caught." Archer concluded.

"Move on please," Arianna spoke up, "There are other matters that need our time."

"Have an appointment to get your nails done, Arianna, dear?" asked Petrel with that cruel chuckle of his.

The woman glared at him, before smirking, "as much as you have an appointment to return to that lovely Jail cell of yours, Petrel. Be happy we still consider you an executive after that embarrassing scandal in Celadon."

Petrel growled as an ugly scowl formed on his face, while Proton chuckled to himself, "ooh, shots fired.."

"Enough" Archer's calm, yet commanding voice echoed through the room, before nodding to the presenter, "continue."

"Y-Yes sir.. Our budget is doing fine for now. Professor Shiranui believes he has made a breakthrough in speeding up the process of evolution, and is requesting funding for his project. Dr. Namba is also requesting more funding for his rage-inducing machine, stating that he is making progress in increasing a Pokemon's power through rage."

While Proton nodded in respect for the men's work, Petrel and Arianna scoffed.

"Shiranui's half baked ideas never work, why bother?" Petrel snorted

"And Namba's ideas always lead to some kind of disaster since he's always biting off more than his little head can chew. I say no" Arianna said as she huffed and turned away.

Archer considered the request for a moment before deciding, "We will give Shiranui a chance to show us something, but tell him this is his last chance. As for Namba, he gets nothing until he shows us this so called progress and his findings. And I mean ALL.. of his findings"

"Yes sir!"

"Now.. if that is everything.. we must call this meeting to a close.." Archer said as he looked around at his other executives, "we have other plans to discuss, in private"

That said, the unnamed presenter left the room in a hurry, and the four walked down the hallway to a more private area of the building to discuss their next project: Mewtwo and Genesect.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

 **AAAAANNND DONE! PHEW!**

 **Sorry these are taking so long. I would've had this done sooner had it not been for this damn summer , let me know what you think.**

 **Ash got a short-tempered Totodile, not the happy go lucky one from the anime, and battled a slightly more mature Casey. I only altered her slightly to make her a little more bearable. And no damn Electabuzz song!**

 **Next chapter will be the first gym battle. Can't wait right? Well, your gonna have to, at least a week or two.**

 **Please favorite and review. I love the feedback. Flames will he squished by a Snorlax!**


	3. Chapter 3: Cat Got Your Tongue?

**OK! Whose ready for more of the Rogue?!**

 **Well, I hope you, so here we go..**

 **We will be covering some of the more interesting episodes before getting to Violet City. At least 3 to 4. There will be some noticeable differences obviously. Ash's rate at collecting badges will go much quicker, for reasons that will come later. Same will be true for Hoenn when we get to it.**

 **Anyways, each Johto chapter will how Ash either helping solve crimes, catching stubborn pokemon, or earning a badge. This one will be another crime solver.**

 **Ready? Let's do this!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON! IF I DID, SERENA WOULDN'T LOOK LIKE A BAG LADY!**

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

It had been a productive yet quiet week for Ash and his team. In between training and traveling, the young trainer had taken some time to see some Johto sights on his way to Violet City.

The first place of interest that they ran into was a forest full of bug pokemon. There were colonies of Pinsirs, Beedrills, Butterfrees and Heracrosses on either side of a ravine. At times, members of one colony would wander into the other and cause a small skirmish, but for the most part it was peaceful. During his time there, Ash also saw the definition of symbiosis. How the Heracrosses helped the Butterfrees eat and how the Pinsirs did the same for the Beedrill. It was interesting to watch.

The boy also made friends with the local rangers, who gave him a more in depth look into how the local communities work, and how hard it was sometimes to keep the peace among the Heracross and the Pinsirs. He got to see that up close when the Beedrill tries attack the Butterfree colony for food and got blasted with Stun spore. It took a good hour for Ash to calm the Butterfree down while the Ranger transported the Beedrill out of the area for treatment. Still, he could say that he learned some new ways to cure Stun Spore/paralysis status.

The second spot his visited was a valley full of rolling Pokemon called Donphan. Seeing their powerful Rollout attacks, Ash was immediately interested and wanted one for himself.

He almost managed to catch one using Totodile when a woman came out of nowhere, claiming the Donphan was hers.. Bummer..

After a brief chat and apologizing for his mistake, The girl, named Rochelle, explained that the Donphan are used to sniff out and find Amberite, a very pretty stone that came in different colors and was once worn by royalty.

After seeing how healthy and strong they all looked, and because he was genuinely interested in the species, Ash couldn't resist himself and challenged the girl to a battle.

Using Magmar, a pokemon he hadn't used in a while, it was a surprisingly close match..

"Magmar, Flamethrower!"

"Donphan, dodge and attack with Rollout!"

The Armor pokemon successfully parried the attack and rolled right into Magmar, knocking it back.

"Recover and use Lava Plume!"

With a backflip, Magmar landed on his feet and harshly punched the ground, causing it to rumble before geysers of fire shot out from the earth.

"Try and cancel those out with Earthquake!"

The tactic was surprisingly effective, as the shaking caused most of the geysers to collapse. However, the Donphan still took damage from the superheated earth and the remaining plumes of fire.

"Rollout!"

"Confuse Ray!"

The effect was almost instant, causing the ground type's Rollout to go haywire, and sent him crashing into various boulders, crushing them into pebbles instantly.

"Oh no!"

"Surround him with Lava Plume, then stop that Rollout!" Ash commanded, not missing a beat.

Using their advanced training, Magmar was able to perfectly control Lava plume to form a literal ring of fire, which further confused and damaged Donphan, but stopped the rampaging attack. The fire type then jumped up and came down with his full weight on top of Donphan, making the almost unstoppable attack slow down until the ground type finally unraveled himself, exhausted and overheated, but still ready to go once the Plumes went away and the field cooled down.

"That's enough!" Rochelle said as she waved her arms, "as exciting as this is, I think we've had enough for today."

"Heh, yea. You're probably right.." he said as he shook her hand. He almost got too caught up in the heat of battle again.

They decided to just call it a draw, and Ash volunteered himself to help clean up the mess. Still, despite the terrain damage caused by the fight, some good came from it as they were able to find the mother lode of amberite after clearing away all of the rocky debris. Rochelle ended up giving Ash a piece which could be made into a necklace, which he readily accepted, thinking of his mother who had a birthday coming up.

Still, after spending time with them, Ash was now determined to eventually capture one of these awesome pokemon for his team. he just had to find one that wasn't already captured..

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

After that, Ash decided to fly the rest of the way to the next town. Not only would it give his flying types time to stretch their wings, but they would skip over that creepy looking forest. Not that he was afraid.. but since there was supposed to be nothing but ghost types in there, and he already had a Gengar.. there was no point.

Their next stop was in a place called Cattailia City, a town rich in history, both good and bad.

"Let's see.. according to the guidebook Lance gave me, this place was made famous for its rich culture and beautiful buildings. It's also made famous by a Cat burlgar called the Black Arachnid and his Meowth. They robbed hundreds of houses before they were stopped by an Officer Jenny and her Spinirak." Ash said softly to himself and.. his shadow, "since then, the Police force of this town have used Spiniraks and Ariados' instead of Growlithes and Arcanines.. interesting.."

And speak of the Giratina, for as Ash walks forward, a small green body with blue stripes, with some of the stripes in the middle forming a face.

The young trainer blinked a few times and tilted his head, "odd.." he said to himself. Apparently the green body didn't take kindly to being called odd, as the 'face' moved into a frown and the body suddenly grew eight yellow striped legs and a head with pincers.

"Gah!" Ash yelled, taking a step back as he was caught off guard. Was this a Spinirak? More than likely..

Unfortunately, Ash didn't have time to scan before the little spider hot a string shot at his face. "Hey!" Ash yelled as he struggled to get the string off. Just as the Spinirak was about to shoot another attack, Ash's shadow suddenly took on a life of its own.

"GENGAR!" the 'shadow yelled towards the green bug type, startling it comically and making it retreat. At his victim's reaction, Gengar began to chuckle maniacally. His trainer couldn't help but laugh as well, "nice one.. I wonder where it came from..." he trailed off when he remembered what the guide book said ,"what a minute.."

Unfortuantely, Ash didn't have a minute as he was suddenly surrounded by about a dozen Spiniraks, all with the same angry look on their false and real faces. Neither trainer or ghost had time to move before they were suddenly shot at and encased in string. Ash looked like a white metapod with a human head, while Gengar just looked like a giant ball with red eyes.

"Oh COME ON!" Ash yelled as he fell over, "I can outrun dozen of trainers and take down entire Team Rocket Bases, and THIS is what gets me?!"

'Seems like it..' said Mewtwo as he chuckled in Ash's head from inside of his pokeball,

'Laugh it up wise guy..' the boy mentally grumbled as he struggled to reach for a survival knife.

"It's your own fault for looking so suspicious!" a new voice said. Looking up, Ash saw that it was none other than Officer Jenny glaring down at him, "The Police Spinirak are trained only to attack those who they deemed are a threat to the city or one of their own. Obviously you were deemed one of these!" she said as she got in his face, "So what malicious crime have you done? Are you perhaps our thieving Copy cat? Or maybe a member of Team Rocket! Or maybe even-"

"Hold on now!" Ash yelled, "I didn't do anything! One of your Spinirak got sore at me for some reason and attacked me first!" he then gestured to his wrapped up pokemon, "When my Gengar scared it off, it called in its little force! That's the honest truth!"

"A likely story.." she said, not believing him.

With a groan, Ash slowly and somewhat painfully shifted himself in his string cocoon, "look, I can prove it. There's a badge on the inside of my jacket. I'm an ACE trainer sanctioned by the league.."

The officer just snorted, "nice one, kid.. like someone your age is a League Sanctioned trainer,"

"JUST Check already! You've got nothing to lose," Ash said with a growl. He was tired of being looked down upon because of his age.

"Pfft, fine..but you better not be wasting my time, kid.." Jenny said as she cut some of the string away with her own knife and reached into the tied boy's now exposed jacket.

Imagine her surprise when she felt something metal and engraved. Pulling it out into the light, the officer saw that it was indeed an authentic League ACE badge.

"Wha-.. but.. how...?" needless to say, the woman was left speechless..

"I can explain if you set me free here.." Ash said as he suppressed a laugh. Even though he didn't like when people doubted his abilities, he still loved their reactions to his rank. It never got old...

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

After a short ride to the station and a brief explanation of who he was and what happened, it seemed as though Jenny had an epiphany.

"OH! I've heard of you!" she said with a smile as they sat down at a table, "you helped out Professor Elm when the starters were stolen from his lab, right?"

"That's right," he confirmed, "And he gave me Totodile as a gift afterwards."

"Well then.. maybe it's just plain fortune that you arrived here.. especially with all the trouble we've been having lately.." the woman said begrudgingly.

Hearing this caused Ash to raise an eyebrow, "what kind of trouble?"

At his question, Jenny just sighed, "As you probably know, the town of Cattalia has a very rich history, both good and bad. At one point, we were plagued at a Cat Burglar that called himself the Black Arachnid. He would break into people's houses, steal their most precious valuables, and then make a hasty escape. The Police weren't able to catch him for the longest thanks to his Meowth, who, with the use of a very strong Payday attack, would leave any pursuing officer dazed or even injured."

Ash nodded as he listened. While he knew the basics of the story, he didn't know the details. Best to know as much as you can.. at least that's what Lance always says.

"However, one night, he was finally to the stop by the Town's chief Officer Jenny, which happened to be my great grandmother. Using her partner, which happened to be a Spinirak, she was able to set a trap for the Black Arachnid and his Meowth, successfully entangling them both in a massive web."

Now THAT was interesting.. and definitely something to file away for future reference should he ever get a Spinirak of his own. Yes, he was already planning on catching one.

"That's some story, Jenny," he said, "so, what's the problem now? I'm guess it has something to do with why you called me a copycat when I was first strung up?"

The officer nodded, "right.. sorry about that by the way. It's just that lately we've been getting a lot of cases of home burglaries. There are no fingerprints or human traces left at the scenes, so no leads to an ID. Forensics did pick up signs of forced entry through windows at every burglarized house though.. along with these" she said as she pulled out a bag full of strange looking blank coins.

"What are these?" Ash asked as he examined them. They felt solid enough, but had a softer feel to them then regular spending coins.

"We believe that these are coins that were left behind after a Payday attack.. the signature attack of.."

"..A Meowth!" Ash finished for her, "So with the your findings so far, I'm guessing you believe that someone is going around acting like the original Black Arachnid?"

"That's what we believe, as Payday coins were always the Black Arachnid's calling card.." she said with a frown, "only this 'CopyCat' is much more aggressive and sneaky in his work. He's not attacking officers like the original, at least not only officers. Eye witnesses say he attacks the home owners and anyone who spots him as well! Several civilians and victims have already gone to the hospital for minor injuries. "

The young ACE solemnly nodded before asking, "were any of the eyewitnesses able to identify him or recognize some sort of facial feature."

"Unfortunately, no" Jenny said as she shook her head, "Just like the original, this one's wearing a mask and a hat. And since he always strikes at night, any other features are nearly impossible to make out."

Hearing that, Ash crossed his arms and hummed softly in thought, "I see the issues now... still, if you're willing to let me, I'd be willing to help you out," he offered with a smile, causing Jenny to smile as well" I was hoping you would say that."

"Sir!" Another male officer shouted as he came in, "We just received a called from the Mayor, stating that he just received a threatening letter from the Black Arachnid!"

"WHAT?!" Jenny said as she stood up, "We have to look into this immediately!" she then turned towards the former rogue, "Ash, come with me"

"Right!" the boy said as he followed the female officer.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

"H-here you are, officer.." the frightened looking Mayor said as he shakily handed over the letter, "I just received it this morning.. saying that they would be going after prized possessions tonight!"

"Don't worry Mayor, we'll get to the bottom of this," Jenny assured

"Any idea who left this note? Did anyone see anything?" Ash asked from behind her

The mayor shook his head, "it was just left in my mailbox with the other mail.. no return address or markings what so ever!"

"hmm.." Jenny hummed as she listened and read the letter,

 _Greetings Cattalia City Mayor. I am sure you are aware of the recent string of burglaries in your overly flashy town. Well, I am all too happy to say that those were MY doing. As you may or may not have guessed, depending on your old, limited brain cells, I am the New and Improved Black Arachnid. But I did not send this letter just to chat. This is to give you and your meager little task force that you, old man, are my next target! I will be going straight for your little room of treasures behind that overcompensating vault of yours. I shall strike at midnight tonight, and I suggest that you do not show your old face, or else I may be tempted to do more than slight bodily harm to your less than fit person. FINALLY, you and the rest of that pompous town shall be put in your places. Call the cops if you like, for they are powerless against me. This is your ONLY warning! Until then.._

"Hmm.." she hummed, "well, it's certainly the best lead we've had so far, and possibly our best chance at catching this guy." she then smiled towards the man, "Like I said, you're in good hands, Mayor. The Cattailia Police Force is on the case."

"Still, I gotta wonder.. " Ash asked as he read the letter, "why send a letter in the first place if you know it's just gonna tip off the cops? And what did he mean by 'put in your places'? "

To his question, Jenny just shrugged, "might be a Power trip..maybe he's just getting cocky.. well we'll show this idiot just how 'Powerless' the Cattailia Police force is!" the officer said as she clenched a fist. She then turned to the Mayor, "Mayor, if you don't mind, I would like to place Officers inside and outside of your residence tonight. This may be our best chance to catch the Black Arachnid copycat!"

"O-Of course!" The man said, "Whatever you need.."

"I'd like to stay here, too.." Ash said, "Something just doesn't seem right about this whole thing..That letter seems like a personal vendetta.."

"Hmm? And who are you?" The Mayor asked curiously

"Oh, sorry.. Ash Ketchum, League ACE trainer," he said as he introduced himself, offering the man a handshake, which he accepted after a moment of shock, "my word.. they're getting younger these days, aren't they.." he said with a fond smile, "your spirit sort of remind me of my own son, though he's a few years older than you and is on his own journey."

"Really? well maybe we'll meet each other on the road," the boy said with a smile

"Alright, enough chit chat.." Jenny said as she interrupted, "We have a lot of work to do and not a lot of time to do it. Mayor, I will be leaving two officers here with you during the day as a precaution. The rest of us will return tonight after formulating a set up. That sound reasonable?"

"Y-Yes! That sounds perfect officer," The man said with a grateful look on his face.

With a final nod and salute, Jenny, Ash, and most of the other officers left the scene, leaving only the assigned guards behind.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

The night came quickly and the midnight hour was swiftly approaching, causing everyone in the Mayor's household to be on edge.

While ten policemen patrolled the outside, fourteen more, including Jenny, watched the inside rooms and vault, where the Mayor had his most precious items locked away. The house was almost completely dark, with only the moonlight from the windows and glass ceiling, and the cops' dimmed flashlights giving some illumination. They wanted to ambush this guy without giving away how many of them there was. 2 more cops were stationed inside the vault as a last defense and possible surprise attack for the Black Arachnid.

As the cops moved around and constantly cycled through the building, one person stood perfectly still, blending into the shadows along with his pokemon, who were also scattered around the place.

for this mission, Ash decided to go stealth and traded out his blue traveling jacket and pants for pitch black utility pants and a black, long sleeve shirt, fingered gloves, and no jacket. He kept the hat though since that was his way of telling the cops that he wasn't the Black Arachnid himself.

Something about this whole situation just rubbed the boy the wrong way.. Sure he had heard of the whole note thing before, but this didn't seem like those.. this almost seemed personal. The way the thief described not only the Mayor, but the vault.. how did he even know the man had a vault, or what it looked like? And why threaten to harm the Mayor?

He didn't have time to think on it as the clock struck Midnight, the first of twelve bells ringing throughout the house..

two...three.. four...

Nothing was happening.. nothing was moving

four...five...six...seven...

Everyone went high alert as they looked around for anything that may be a threat...

eight..nine...

Ash looked around at where his pokemon were at their assigned stations. They were on edge as well...

ten..eleven..

They all held a collective breath..

Twelve...

...nothing.. ...no glass breaking.. no call of a Meowth...nothing...

A few minutes ticked by and everyone began looking at each other... was this a hoax? Someone pulling a bad trick?

"What a crock.." one Police officer said

Bad timing on his part, because just as he said that..

*BANG! WHOOOSH!* The vault door swung open violently, much faster than it was made to do. Upon opening, the entire room in front of the vault, where most of the policemen were, was filled to the brim with bright light and smoke.

*cough cough* "What the hell!" Jenny shouted as she coughed from the smoke and shielded her eyes, "Where's Mason and Johnson?! They were supposed to be in the vault!"

She didn't like the answer..

"MUAHAHAHAHA!" A new male voice said as he stepped out of the light, "well that was fun.. oh and don't worry about your officer, madam Jenny..they've been taken of already" the man said as he smirked under his mask.

"Venomoth, use gust to clear the smoke away!" Ash called out once he regained his senses. From an almost invisible point, a strong Gust attack blew through the room, knocking the smoke back ward and clearing everyone's vision, as well as making the 'Black Arachnid' cover his face from the force of the gust.

Once the smoke was gone, the figure became more visible. The male stood about 5'9" and wore an outfit that was almost an exact replica of the Black Arachnid almost a hundred years ago. In his hand was a long dagger that gleamed in the light, and next to him sat.. not a Meowth, but a Persian, looking regal yet deadly.

The Arachnid chuckled, "seems as though I won't be making the clean escape I was going for, but oh well.." he said in a voice that reeked cockiness.

"AFTER HIM!" Jenny Yelled, "AND FIND MASON AND JOHNSON!"

All at once, the officers darted forward, weapons drawn and pokemon ready, all shouting crise for the mane to surrender or be harmed.

The Black Arachid's smirk only got bigger, "how feeble..Persian, darling.. flash.."

With a loud meow, the Classy Cat's gem began to glow brightly, filling up the room with more light and effectively blinding the officers, making their eyes sting horribly.

"Now, my dear.. Payday!"

"WHAT?!" everyone shouted, can a Persian still know Payday. It's usually a move that only their pre-evolved form knew...

Their questions were answered when another, smaller figure jumped up from behind the duo and began spraying everyone with the glowing coins.

"MRAAAOOO!" the pokemon screeched as it attacked

"He has a Meowth as well!" Ash said in slight shock. Another player had been introduced to the game, altering the plan just a bit.

Multiple screams followed as everyone, including Jenny and Ash, was tagged by the more powerful than normal attack, which sent them backward to the ground.

"Now, Persian.. finish this with a wide spread swift!"

The large cat mewed before calling out its name and sending dozens of stars toward the cops, incapacitating them.

"Now then," the Black Arachnid said as he surveyed all around him, taking in the now unconscious or pain-filled bodies of the cops, "I think it's time that we take our leave.." he said with a cruel chuckle as he grabbed a large bag, full of the Mayor's treasures. "let's see how the Mayor feels about losing his so called 'precious belongings' "

"Wait.." an older voice called out to him, "don't so this, please.. you're throwing your life away.."

The voice turned out to be the Mayor himself, "Please.. think of what you're doing.."

The burglar just snarled, "it's too late for that, old man.. much too late..." he then pointed, "Persian, Down this old man with Power Gem!"

Without hesitation, the Classy Cat's gem lit up with red power before a concentrated beam of energy shot forward towards the Mayor, who was too shocked to move.

"Raichu, intercept with Iron Tail!"

"What?!" The Black Arachnid said in shock as a large electric mouse suddenly shot from the darkness that still enveloped the room , tail glowing, and intercepted the attack, making it ricochet upward through the glass ceiling.

"What in the world.." the man didn't have time to finish as he was ambushed.

After recovering from the initial Payday and narrowly avoiding at least most of the swift, Ash sped forward, twin blades in hand, towards his hostile target. Normally he would save deadly force for those that truly deserved it, which in his mind, this man did considering was he almost did and was willing to do to the Mayor.

With only a few second to react, the thief was able to parry Ash's first strike and dodge the second, before running backwards to get some space in between them, "Persian, Meowth, take care of this ruffian!"

"Guys! Take 'em out!" Ash called to his pokemon, who immediately reacted and surrounded the two felines.

After that all hell broke loose...

/-/-/-/

As Jenny slowly came to and looked at her surrounding, she saw that it was mostly dark, but the shadows around her were dancing on the walls, hinting that something strange was going on.

"Officer Jenny.." The voice of the Mayor reached her ears, causing her to turn towards the older gentleman

"What happened?" she asked as she stood up, "W-Where's the Black Arachnid?! Did he escape?!" she asked frantically. No way did they just blow their possibly only chance of catching this guy..

"O..Over there.." The mayor said, pointing towards the source of the dancing shadows, "The young ACE has engaged him in combat, but I fear for both of their lives.." he said in a solemn tone.

Seeing was he was pointing at, Jenny's eyes almost popped out of her head..

The Arachnid was struggling to fight off the black clad trainer as used his long dagger and a bloody hand to fend him off. Ash, however, wasn't giving the man time to even breathe as sent multiple stabs and potential strikes and slices his way. Unfortunately, the man was very good at dodging, but then again, so was Ash.

At one point, the Arachnid sliced horizontally, trying to slit Ash's throat, only for the boy to duck, causing the man to only knock his hat off. Taking advantage of his position, Ash sent his blades forward, intent on stabbing the man in the gut, but the older male blocked his strike. Here, Ash smirked as he held the man's blade in place with one of his own blades, before using the other to try and slice the man across the face. The Arachnid only tilted his head back, missing the worst of the attack but still taking the hit as the blade sliced through his right cheek, right under his mask.

After that, they both disengaged before charging towards each other again. Their blades met in the middle, causing sparks to fly, but Ash was able to use his second blade once again to slice part of the man's wrist, making him yelp in pain. He then tackled the man to the ground, only for the man to use his flexible legs to kick Ash in the back of the head, making him roll off and back to his feet. The Arachnid soon followed, gasping for breath.

The burglar's kittens weren't doing much better in their own fight, considering that they were vastly outnumbered. Pulling no punches, Ash had six of his pokemon out on the inside during the time of the sting: Venomoth, Raichu, Nidoking, Magmar, Totodile, and of course, Gengar. The others were out in the courtyard and around the house, ready to strike should they have to take the fight outside.

Meowth first sent out a wide range Payday, followed by a powerful swift from Persian, which pushed the their assailants back slightly. Meowth then readied what looked like a Night Slash, only to be stopped by a flamethrower/Thunderbolt combo from Magmar and Raichu respectively. After a quick recovery, it tried to attack again with Payday, only to be blasted by a multicolored beam of light, courtesy of Venomoth. It was then firmly, but not painfully, stepped on by Magmar's hot foot, a clear sign for it to stay down..

Persian then ran forward with a Feint attack, catching Totodile off guard and slicing at it, making the water type yelp in pain. Imagine the Classy cat's surprise when the blue croc got up almost immediately, looking pissed off, before spraying the large feline with a powerful looking Watergun, sending it sailing right into Nidoking, who merely smirked before using his newest move, ThunderPunch!

The Persian screeched loudly in pain as it received a major shock to the system, before it was batted into the air by a fierce Iron Tail. Surprisingly, it was caught in mid air by an invisible force. After a few slow blinks of confusion, the cat started to sweat profusely as it saw a pair of large, gleaming red eyes and a maniacal, serial killer smile "Geng..."

One Hypnosis later, it was out.

Back with the human fight, it was obvious who had the upper hand. The Black Arachnid was gasping for breath, covered in multiple cuts over his face, arms, and chest from his opponent twin blades. Ash, however, only looked slightly winded, thanks to his endurance training, and sported a cut above his left eye. He also had one that scratched shallowly across his abdomen and over his right forearm but they barely hurt thanks to the adrenaline pumping through his veins.

With a deep growl, the man sloppily darted forward, "I Will END YOU!" and aimed his dagger for Ash's head. Almost effortlessly, the boy parried to blow to the side of his head, before grabbing the man's arm and pulling it behind him, effectively pinning him in a half Nelson and slipping his blade under the man's throat, "if you value your life and that of your pokemon, you will surrender!"

Now, Ash would never intentionally harm a pokemon, but Arachnid didn't know that.

Seeing that his precious felines were down for the count, the man reluctantly relented, "curse you.. to HELL WITH YOU ALL!" he yell with the last of his energy, "my plan for revenge..thwarted."

"Revenge on whom?" Jenny asked as she approached with the Mayor right behind her, "what do you have against the Mayor and our city?"

Surprisingly, it was the Mayor who answered, "this is partially my fault. He always was a troubled boy.."

His comment caused Ash and Jenny to look at him oddly. They only watched as the older man stepped forward and removed the thief's mask.

His identity revealed, Jenny let out a gasp, "Malcolm?!"

By this point, Ash was thoroughly confused, "uhh, who's Malcolm?"

The Mayor let out a heavy sigh, "my son.."

The revelation made Ash go wide eyed, shocked, so much that his grip slipped just a little on the man's wrist. That was all the opportunity he needed

"GYAAA!" Malcolm yelled as he pushed Ash off of him, narrowly avoiding the blade next to his throat. He then made a break for it outside through the garden.

That's when Ash let out a high pitched whistle...

Just as Malcolm was about to reach the gate, a powerful tremor rocked the area, and from under his feet, a tower of stone boulders erupted from the ground right in front of him.

Onix glared down at the little human and roared in his face, giving the man a pair of very wet pants.

This time, Jenny didn't hesitate as she took the former copycat into custody, "You're under arrest! You have the right to remain silent!..."

As she went into the Mirada speech, Ash came out and smiled as he congratulated his rock snake, patting his head, "awesome job buddy.. you and everyone else did wonderfully"

The massive rock type grumbled in happiness from his trainer's praises.

Meanwhile, the Mayor had approached his son while he was taken to the Police Car, "why? Why do all of this? Why waste your talent? What were you trying to prove?"

Malcolm just snorted, "that you're nothing but a foolish old man that hides behind your wealth and past successes in order to 'play Mayor,' and this Town is so stupid and gullible that that believe every word you say! But I know the truth. You care nothing of anyone but yourself! If you had paid as much attention to me and mom as you did to 'building your legacy,' none of this would've happened!"

The Mayor just sighed before reaching into the large bag the boy was trying to get away with and pulled out a book covered in gold figures, "this book was in my vault along with my other treasures.. look inside.."

Malcolm just glared at his father before rolling his eyes and opening the book. What he saw shocked him to his very core.

..Pictures.. of him, his mother, and his father.. when he was a baby and growing up. Even of his mother and father at their wedding. His father.. kept these?

"Malcolm.." the older man said, "I love you, and I loved your mother with my every fiber. The day we lost her, I was almost utterly destroyed. The only thing that kept me going at that dark time was you and my work, which I ended up throwing myself into. I am sorry if I gave you the impression that I never cared about you. Please know that that was never the case"

Malcolm continued to stare at his father with a look of shock and disbelief. Had he been wrong this whole time? Maybe..

"Officer Jenny?" The Mayor said, "I will not be pressing charges against my son. I can tell that he is truly sorry."

"While that's all well and good, Mayor, let's not forget the dozens of other houses that your son was responsible for looting" the officer pointed out.

"Yea, why did you rob all of those houses?" Ash asked with a glare

"I-I wanted to see what it was like to actually be the infamous man.. that and I wanted to ruin my dad's reputation.. what better way than to bring back one of the City's most infamous criminals and rob everyone blind? The Political backlash would've been huge!"

The mayor let out a sigh, "Well, you are going to have to answer to all of the others you have taken from," he them smiled, "but know that I will always love you my son.. please don't even doubt them again."

The former thief nodded as his face became riddled with guilt and understanding.

Case closed.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

The sun was now coming up over the horizon and everyone was down at the Police station. After all of the officers and pokemon had been accounted for, including the vault cops, and had recovered from the night's events, it was now time to do the most painful part of the job..

..Paperwork..

Even poor Ash couldn't get a pass. In fact, he had to make two reports, one for Jenny and one for Lance as well, which was very tiring and irritating for the youth, 'I'd rather have Onix use me as his personal pillow than deal with this shit.'

 _'Are you sure about that?_ ' asked a humored mewtwo

'Hell yes..I swear, eating a plate full of tomato berries isn't this painful..'

Once all reports were done, it was almost noon , and Ash was exhausted. He was about to head to the Center for some sleep when Jenny called out to him, "Ash, wait!"

The woman smiled at him as she approached with a small booklet in hand, "Ash, before you go, I wanted to thank you for all of your hard work."

"It's no problem, Officer," he said, "Just doing my job."

"Never the less, we would've never been able to catch the Black Arachnid without your help," she said as she presented him with the booklet, "That little booklet has a lot of coupons and vouchers that you can use at a variety of stores while on your journey. It even has a voucher for a free Pokemon egg from any certified daycare!"

"Wow, really?" Ash said in awe as he looked through it, "and I can have this?"

"you deserve a lot more, trust me. " she said with a smile.

"Still, thank you very much, Jenny" he said with a bow, "I'm sure this'll come in handy."

"mhm, now you get out there and do your best. And smack Falkner in the head for me when you get to Violet city, k?"

"Falkner? Is that the gym leader?"

"Yep!" She confirmed, "guy still owes me a ride on his Pidgeot. Anyway, take care of yourself, alright?"

"Right! And you do the same, ok Jenny?" he said with a smile as he headed to the Pokemon Center.

/-/-/-/

Just like, any other center, this one was crowded with trainers, who more than likely had no idea who he was or what happened last night.

All the better. Ash and his pokemon were exhausted...well.. mostly Ash anyway, and were in need of sleep.

Almost sleepwalking, Ash approached the front desk, suppressing a yawn, "hello Nurse Joy.. I'd like to get my pokemon checked out an a room for the day?"

"Certainly," the cheerful nurse replied, "just let me see your pokedex real quick and you'll be all set."

With a slow nod, Ash groggily searched his pocket...before remembering that it was already on his wrist...

'..I need sleep.." he thought as he presented his X-tran to the woman, who was able to successfully confirm his identity.

"Oh, wait.. _Your_ Ash Ketchum?" she asked with a bit of shock in her voice.

"uhh, yea?" he asked with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"we just received a package for you from the Mayor himself! He said it was a thank you gift. I hear that Jenny received a gift as well." she explained as she reached below the desk and pulled out a small, square package.

Now a little more awake, Ash took the box and slowly opened it. The contents were surprising..

"What is this?" asked the tired trainer. It was a flat, square, green tablet that had two retractable antennae at the top of it. The antennae ends were large round yellow bulbs that looked like they could light up.

Underneath the device was a note,

 _Dear Ash,_

 _I cannot thank you enough for what you did for me, my family, and the city. Not only did you help bring a potentially dangerous criminal to justice, but you also helped me mend a rift between my son and I. I do not know what will be in his future, but I felt as though I should give you something to show my thanks. This device is called a dowsing machine, a very high tech but still experimental machine used to help find all kinds of items on the road. I'm sure for a traveler like yourself, it will prove to be very useful. It was made by the Devon Corporation, so if you have any issues with it, let them know. And once again, you have my eternal thanks._

 _Signed, Mayor Lions, Cattalia City_

After reading the explanation, Ash couldn't help but look in awe at the machine he had been trusted with. This was huge! He could definitely see the uses he could get out of this!

..But that would have to wait until after he got some sleep...

After thanking Nurse Joy, Ash hastily retired to his room for some much needed sleep. As he drifted off, he couldn't help but think about how his first week in the Johto region. He had already helped solve two crimes and got himself one of the coveted starters. He also had a minor brush with death last night. Malcolm's dagger skills were pretty good. His forearm and stomach still kinda hurt. Oh well, that just meannt he would have to step his own game up.

Still, if this was all the first week offered, he couldn't wait to see what the rest of his journey had in store..

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

 **AAANNNDD DONE!**

 **Ash got a coupon book and a Dowsing Machine.. didn't see that coming, did you?**

 **Wasn't a part of the original plan, but when I saw it on the list of game items, I figured, why not? Never seen it done before...**

 **..Not as long as the others but still pretty packed with goodies. Anyways, let me know what you think about it. I always love good feedback.**

 **Reviews appreciated, Flames will be sent to Ice Island for Articuno to play with!**


	4. Chapter 4: Violet City Ventures

**Time for more Rogue, YAAAYY! FINALLY!**

 **Sooo Sorry for the long wait guys.. it's been crazy.. but hey you don't wanna hear about my crappy job and complete lack of free time...**

 **Let's see what antics Ash gets into this time!**

 **Im, ready!.. Sorta.. and I know you guys are ready!**

 **So Let's go!**

 **DISCLAIMER: IDO NOT OWN POKEMON**

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

After another week of travel via foot and sky, Ash finally found himself at his first Designation, Violet City. After the Cattailia City incident, things had been relatively peaceful. No League cases, no one coming after him for one reason or another.. it was awesome.

Of course, the young ACE didn't just travel and relax during the week. Not where there was training to be done!

Thanks to their speed drills and races, Raichu, Onix, and Totodile were now much faster; Venomoth's powder-like attacks could now cover more distance; Scizor's Hyperbeam was now more accurate and took less energy to use; Nidoking now has better control over his newer moves; And Magmar's Flamethrower was much faster and more powerful. All in all, it was a good week

Now, Ash was free to explore the beauty of Violet City, and enjoy the peaceful-

*RIIINNGG!*

'Damnit..' Ash grumbled as he answered his X-transceiver. Only a couple people knew his number, so..

"Ash, it's me Lance!"

With a small sigh, the preteen nodded, "hello Lance, how are you gonna ruin my mood today?" he said jokingly

"Oh come on, that's not nice. Besides, I got something that you may be interested in."

"Oh?"

"Mhm.. We got a call from someone who saw one the flyers we put out. Someone may have spotted Gary Oak."

At that, Ash came to a complete stop and went wide eyed, "Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack!" Lance responded, "They spotted him somewhere just outside of Violet City, but when I asked Falkner, he said he hasn't had anyone that matched Gary description challenge him." Then Lance put on a serious face, "Now Listen Ash, we don't know what all has happened to Gary since he went off the grid, but we need to bring him back to League headquarters for questioning. At all costs! He could give us valuable information related to Oak."

"Do you think he'd give up his own Grandfather?" Ash asked skeptically. Even though the old man was as crooked as they come, there was still a strong feeling a family there... at least, that's what it always looked like to him

"well, one of Samuel's old aides told us that there was some friction between him and Gary after the Indigo League, so hopefully we'll be able to use that to our advantage. Bottom line is, we need Gary Oak. If you spot him, let me know, and if you get the opportunity, capture him."

"Got it!" Ash said with all the seriousness he could muster. The call then ended

Gary Oak was a true wild card for several reasons. After going for months under the radar, there's no telling how strong he was now, or even if his pokemon were getting proper care. There was also the question of whether or not he would be friend or foe. No doubt he'll try to come after Ash right off the bat, but could his mind be changed?

Oh well, he'll cross that bridge when he came to it.

Right now, the next best move was to head to the Pokemon Center. Maybe he would get lucky if he questioned the other trainers there. That, and his Pokemon could use some rest and a check up.

/-/-/-/-/-/

It was a quick five minute jog to the pokemon center. As one would predict, it was pretty packed with trainers who either battled the gym leader already or were getting ready to. The Nurse joy at the counter appeared to be in a rush as she constantly went back and forth from the desk to the rejuvinators, either placing pokeballs into the machines, sending them to the back room for more in depth treatment, or handing off the less serious cases to the Chanseys.

As Ash approached the counter, he saw that there were at least three other trainers waiting up there for their pokemon.

"Yo, Nurse!" One male trainer said rudely, "Can you hurry it up with my pokemon? I got training to do!"

"I am very sorry for the wait, but we are going as fast as we can," the Nurse explained as she grabbed another tray full of pokeballs, "You'll just have to be patient like everyone else-"

"I Have Been Patient!" The male yelled, "I've been waiting here for 10 minutes! Why don't you just-"

"HEY!" Ash yelled as he approached the desk and glared at the trainer, "Show some respect! She's obviously working her tail off!" He then glared at the boy, "or you can do us all a favor and just disappear. That would be nice too."

"Why YOU..!" The older boy yelled, about to get in Ash's face. It was then that a Chansey came out of the back with a tray full of the male trainer's pokeballs. Seeing them, the male smirked and snorted, "bout time.." he then turned towards the young ACE, "we'll settle this outside, wimp!" With those words, he stalked out.

After he left, both the nurse and Ash let out a sigh of relief, before the young trainer asked her, "hey, are you alright?"

"Oh I'm fine!" she said as she put on an uneasy smile, "Don't worry about me. It's not the first time that a trainer has gotten snappy. Everyone has a bad day, right?"

"I guess.." Ash said, "no excuse for being so rude to someone that's trying to help you though.." he said as he brought his pokeballs out and placed them onto the counter, "By the way, I need two Pokeball trays please."

"Two?" Joy asked, perplexed.

"mhm, I'm allowed to carry two full teams with me," he explained as he showed her his I.D. and privileges on his x-tran.

"Oh I see!" The nurse nodded as she read his profile, "my, you're awfully young to be an ACE League trainer."

"Heh, yeah I know.." he said as he placed the last of his pokeballs on the counter for her.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/

After a fifteen minute wait, which really wasn't that long of a wait considering the number of trainers there as well as the number of pokemon he had, Ash reclaimed his refreshed team and headed outside.

There, as he expected, was the rude trainer from earlier, and it seemed as though he had some friends.

"Bout' time you showed up," the boy taunted, "I was starting to think you had chickened out!"

"Nah," Ash responded, "I'm actually surprised that you waited this long for me, considering that you couldn't give the same courtesy to the poor, overworked nurse"

"Whatever!" the boy said, "If she did her job better, there wouldn't have been a problem! But enough of that," he said as he pulled out a pokeball, "Now down to business. You and me, pokemon battle! 3-on-3!" he declared arrogantly

Ash just sighed and shrugged, "fine, let's finish this quick. I've got more important things to do than mess around with punks like you."

"Grr, fine!" the boy growled, "Let's go, Granbull!"

In a flash, the fairy type bull dog appeared, trying it's best to look intimidating, though it only succeeded in making the young ACE chuckle, "ok then.. Lucario, to the battlefront!"

The black Aura Pokemon made himself known, his presence causing all of spectating trainers' jaws to drop, not just because of his unique color, but also at the power and respect it seemed to hold.

Lucario only smirked as he went into his stance.

"Hmph! that freakish jackal doesn't scare me!" the rude trainer said, "Yo, Derek! Ref and announce this, will ya?!"

"Alright, alright!" said another heavier boy as he stood in between them, "This is a 3-on-3 battle between Danny Wright, and..."

"Ash.."

While Maze jus tilted his head, Danny seemed to only get angrier at hearing his name. Why? It's not like they ever met before? And he even left out his last name to be safe..

"Ash...weird name.. whatever.. first person to have all of their pokemon faint or forfeited wins. Ready? GO!"

"Go get em, Granbull! Use Crunch!" the boy, Danny, yelled. Within seconds, the pink bullbog was bounding forward, its mouth taking on a dark glow as it dashed towards Lucario.

As their opponent approached, Ash and Lucario both watched its movements. While it appeared to have decent strength, it definitely wasn't the fastest. The black jackal could run literal circles around it. Seeing this, they both smirked.

"Let's try out a combo..." the young raven said, "wait for it..."

Lucario merely watched as Granbull charged closer.. just as it opened its darkened mouth wide for the bite..

"Sidestep right and use Metal Force!"

With a light chuckle, the fighting type immediately took a big step to the side, causing the fairy dog's attack to miss. As it rushed past, Lucario's left paw glowed as the spike became three long steel claws and sliced across Granbull's body, making it cry in pain as it gained three distinct slash marks across its chest and midsection. As it fell, Lucario stepped forward as placed its black paw on the fairy type's back and let loose a burst of energy, causing a bright flash and a small explosion.

"Granbull!" Danny yelled out to his pokemon.

Once the smoke cleared, the bulldog was scene sprawled out on the ground barely conscious.

"Get up! Right NOW!" the obnoxious trainer yelled. As Granbull struggled to stand on its feet, Ash and Lucario both shook their heads in disappointment, not only at the pokemon's performance, but also at his trainer's actions.

"Knock it out with a light Blaze kick.." Ash said softly and almost reluctantly. He didn't want to hurt the pokemon anymore, but in this case it was probably best to put the pup out of its misery.

Just as Granbull got up and fell to his knees again, Lucario dashed forward with his foot ablazed and smashed it into its lower jaw. The fairy pokemon almost seemed resigned to his fate as it was blessedly knocked out.

"Grr.. return!" Danny grumbled as he returned his pokemon, only to pull out a second pokeball, "Go, Houndour!"

In a familiar flash of light, a black dog with a red snout and underbelly appeared. it looked to have a skull-like cap over its forehead, bone-like shackles around the lower part of its legs, as well as two sets of 'ribs' wrapped around its midsection. it growled menacingly as it glared at Ash and Lucario

"Impressive.." the young ACE mumbled as it appraised the new release. This was actually a pokemon that he had wanted to capture some time in the future, so it was something to see one in person.

"HA!" The pompous trainer gloated, "since Houndour's a fire type, we'll mop the floor with your stupid steel type!"

Ash and Lucario simultaneously sweatdropped, "..uhh...you do know that I could say the same thing since fighting types have the advantage over dark types... right?"

"So what!" Danny yelled, "we're still winning this! Houndour, use smog!"

The dark type grunted before letting out a cloud of noxious gases. So Danny wasn't as dumb as he looked. Still wouldn't work though.

"Close your eyes and hold your breath. Let your _other_ senses take over" Ash instructed, putting some emphasis on other so that Lucario would get the hint. He wasn't called the Aura Pokemon for nothing.

Taking a deep breath right before the Smog attack washed over him, Lucario closed his eyes and activated his Aura, giving him a clear picture of where Houndour was. Of course, Danny was oblivious to all of this.

"Houndour, Ember while its trapped in the Smog! Blow it up!" the boy called out triumphantly, "this battle is mine!"

"Jump! the Bone Rush!" Ash called out as a counter.

As Houndour shot off his Ember, Lucario jumped high and forward, just missing the ignition of the gas and the subsequent explosion. Then, with his eyes still closed to protect them from left over fumes, the jackal formed a long, staff like bone made of Aura in his paws and attacked full throttle.

"Dodge that!" Danny yelled as he started to sweat from frustration. Unfortunately for him, it was futile. Lucario was just too fast, and Houndour was hit by almost every strike of the aura bone.

"Houndour! Ember attack while your close! Quick!" Danny said frantically

"Aura Sphere.." Ash responded, acting almost bored.

As Houndour, who appeared to be on his last legs from receiving multiple super-effective hits, blasted off another ember, Lucario merely grunted and formed an Aura Sphere in front of him. The Sphere somehow blocked and absorbed the incoming embers before shooting forward and smacking right into Houndour, exploding on impact. The results were pretty clear as Houndour was instantly knocked out with swirls in his eyes.

"Grr! What the hell!" Danny growled, "There's no way in hell that attack should've absorbed Ember! Your cheating!"

"It's not cheating, it's just good training," Ash retorted, "and you don't know the first thing about Aura and its nearly unlimited potential, so don't pretend like you do"

"That's It!" Danny growled , almost ferally, "You won't win this! I refuse to lose! Meet my starter!"

That said, the boy threw his last ball, revealing a large, brown, bear-like pokemon that appeared to share the same feral look as its trainer.

"An Ursaring.." Ash whispered uneasliy. From what he knew o the species, Ursaring were very powerful, destructive, temperamental, and hard to control. Usually trainers who wanted such a pokemon were enouraged to start with its first form, Teddiursa, form a bond, and go from there. Without that bond, you were almost guaranteed to have some problems upon evolution.

Despite the breed's fierce reputation, Ash had no desire to catch one. Personal reasons mostly. When a torn up Tediursa doll was one of the few reminders you had of a harsh childhood.. yea best to steer clear of it. Of course, if Gary hadn't scared him half to death with its severed head, then maybe-

"Since you won't go, then we will!" Danny yelled, "Ursaring, start and finish this with Thrash!"

The bear growled as its dashed forward, its eyes taking on a reddish tint as it lunged for Lucario.

"You're faster Lucario! Keep your distance and use back to back Aura Spheres!" Ash called out.

All they had to do was outlast Thrash's attack phase. As destructive as that attack was, it had a big drawback of leaving the pokemon that used it in a confused state. Typically why most trainers used it as a last resort or finishing move...

Lucario followed his trainer's commands to the letter, hopping around the field to avoid the bear's erratic swings while firing off well placed Aura Spheres. Ursaring roared in pain and anger with each hit he took, his wild swings coming in surprisingly faster, catch both Ash and Lucario by surprise.

"Rahh!" Lucario grunted as Ursaring got a lucky hit in, sending him stumbling backwards, but still on his feet. Other than a nice scratch on his arm, he was fine. Ursaring, on the other hand, looked tired, angry, and, of course, utterly bewildered and confused.

"Grr! Ursaring, use Focus Blast!" Danny called out, ignoring his pokemon's confused state.

Ursaring roared loudly before beginning to form the orb in his hands.. only for it to blow up in his face due to.. well.. lack of focus.

"Ursaring! Get your act together!" the obnoxious boy yelled, making Ash shake his head.

"As much as I would like to see that overgrown teddy bear knock itself out, we have places to be.. Lucario, end this with a full power Aura Sphere...well.. 3/4 power.. that should be enough" Ash said as he observed Ursaring's sorry state.

Lucario grunted before powering up a final Aura Sphere and blasting it forward.

"DODGE THAT!" Danny yelled desperately, but there was no escaping the homing abilities of an Aura Sphere. All everyone could was Ursaring groan in agony as the Sphere scored a critical hit, causing a small explosion of smoke. Once the smoke cleared, the moon bear was on the ground with swirls in its eyes.

With a heavy sigh, the standing Referee, Derek, announced, "Well that's it. Ursaring is unable to battle. The winner of the match with no pokemon lost is Ash."

"NO WAY!" Danny yelled as he recalled his knocked out pokemon, "That's it! I'm reporting you for this! You totally cheated during that last battle! Ursaring had dodged that damned attack! And there was no way he should've been taken out by it"

Ash let out a heavy sigh and explained, "Ok, first of all, shut up. Second, Aura Sphere is an attack that, like Swift, can't be dodged. And thirdly, if you remember anything from basic trainer's school, you should know that since Ursaring is a normal type, he's at a huge disadvantage from the start against Lucario, who is, as stated before.. a FIGHTING type!"

Danny merely growled as he resisted an embarrassed blush. He had forgotten that _little_ detail. The crowd that had gathered to watch the one sided battle could either be heard snickering, or be seen shaking their heads at the trainer's stupidity.

"W-Whatever!" Danny grunted before pointing directly at Ash, "mark my words, you and I WILL meet and battle again, and when we do, you'll be sorry you ever made a fool out of me!" He said before rushing back into the center, his friend right on his toes.

Ash just sighed and shook his head, "that was more trouble that it was worth," he said, with Lucario grunting in agreement, "Come on, let's get out of here.."

"Wait!' someone yelled as they approached him from the crowd. It was a blonde boy, about his age, maybe a year older, "I'd like to give you a real challenge if you don't mind!" he said, readying a pokeball.

"Me too!" another voice yelled

"Me Three!"

Hearing all of this, Ash and Lucario looked at each other and sighed with small smiles on their faces, this was going to be a long morning.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

The Sprout Tower, a tall tower-like structure that was well known throughout Johto. The reason for its fame was its mysteriously swaying center support beam, which swayed back and forth like a BellSprout did, hence the name. Trainers from all over, be they rookies or experienced veterans, come here and find some sort of inspiration or enlightenment for their journeys.

For rookies, it reminds them that they have a lot of growing to do and gives them the inspiration to keep going to achieve their dreams. For veterans, it is a reminder of how they were when they first started out on their journeys as little sprouts, and how far they've come.

This was our hero's next stop. After blasting through a series of battles that ranged from easy to moderately difficult, Ash decided to make a trip to the famous tower to see the swaying column for himself.

Upon entering the building, Ash could see various people, including a teacher and her students, either talking or staring at the very center of the tower, its swaying wooden beam. As the young ACE gazed upon it, he couldn't help but wonder.. How the hell was that even possible? If this was the center support beam, wouldn't the whole building be swaying?

Still, other than that, Ash didn't really feel anything. No inspiration, no enlightenment.. nothing... Considering how rough the beginning of his journey was, he'd rather not be reminded of the times when he was considered a 'little sprout.'

With a grunt, Ash turned away from the swaying column, and looked around the room again, observing the people. There was the Teacher and her students, an old man with his granddaughter probably, a shadowy figure looking at him, some people dressed up a priests, a...wait, what?

Looking back, he saw a darkened silhouette of someone, about his height, maybe a few inches taller, slip behind the beam, and walk up the stairs marked 'Employees Only' that was located behind the swaying beam. Looking around, Ash saw that no one else had noticed him. Still, something didn't seem right.. he sensed trouble, and in times like this, his senses were rarely wrong.

With quiet, almost inaudible footsteps, Ash followed the shadowed, one hand on his belt and one hand in front of him, prepared for anything.

He continued his climb, seeing nothing out of the ordinary so far, until he got to the final floor at the very top. There were all kinds of gears and levelers hard at work, more than likely using complex mechanisms to keep the tower stable and the beam swaying. In the center of the floor was the very top of the beam, with metal cranks and gears surrounding it, working their magic. This was essentially the control center of the tower itself.

But Ash didn't pay attention to any of that. His attention was on the figure that was on the other side of the room. From what he could tell, the figure was more than likely a young male, about his age, but he was covered in black from head to toe.

By his side was a fox-like pokemon that Ash had only seen a few times before. Its sleek, black fur was highlighted with thick yellow rings on its ears and legs, and its red eyes seemed to delve deep into one's soul. It was an Umbreon, an Eevee evolution that called upon the powers of the night to evolve. Not only would the Eevee have to be well trained, but it would also have to be relatively happy with its trainer. They were rare, but definitely one of the more popular and sought after Eeveelutions.

"I see that you like my newest team member.." the figure said in a very familiar voice, "She's probably ten times better than anything you can pull from your belt, huh Ashy-boy?"

'Ashy-boy...?!' the young ACE thought in shock. There was only one person that called him that nick-name, "I don't know.. I think I have a few team members that could contest her, _Gare-bear_.."

The figure flinched at the nickname, before letting out a chuckle, and letting down his hood, revealing him to be, none of than the Grandson of the now imprisoned Professor Oak.

Gary smirked at him, though it wasn't his usual, mocking smirk. This smirk seemed almost.. cruel..and his eyes.. seemed somewhat crazed.. what had happened to him?

"I've been waiting a long time to see you again, Loser.." the brunette said with an almost evil smirk, "A chance to finally put you in your place. I'm sure Gramps would love to hear about it"

Ash just let out a small growl and shook his head, "you do know that Professor Oak is in jail now, right? He was arrested for several crimes against the League and numerous trainer, including me!" she said with a sigh, "there's no reason for you to try and 'gain his approval' anymore."

Gary just frowned at his old rival's words, "Yes I heard, kind of hard not to hear since it was headline news on every channel for a solid week," he said bitterly, "I don't know how you got the Champion himself to believe your half-assed story, but that doesn't matter." He then smirked, "Once I take you down, I'll expose you for the little pest you are, then clear Grandpa's name."

"There's nothing to clear, Gary. Trust me.." Ash responded with a glare, "The Professor is a fake, a criminal. He's lied, blackmailed, bribed, and intimidated to get what he wanted, and in some cases, including mine, falsely accused. Can't you see that?"

"So what?!" the young Oak shouted," I already knew he wasn't completely clean, but half the crap he's accused of isn't true!"

"How do you know that?!" Ash yelled, "The evidence doesn't lie, Gary. And if you know he's dirty, then why are you defending him?!"

Gary snorted, "well firstly, like grandpa always, in order to make a damn good omelette, you gotta break a few eggs," he said with a smirk before sobering up, "Second.. and this may come as a shock to you, but he's all I got. I'm not about to let him rot in jail just like that." the black-clad trainer then pulled out a pokeball, "So my new goal, other than winning the Silver Conference, is to get him out of there. And you.." He pointed the Pokeball forward, "Are in the way of that.."

Seeing the pokeball, Ash immediately went wide eyed and put his hands in a defensive stance, "Gary, wait! You don't want to do that-"

"What's the matter Ashy-boy, scared?!" Gary asked loudly and tauntingly, "heh, you should be. I've gotten much stronger since we last seen each other. I'd even go as far to say that I'm very close to elite level."

Ash just frowned, "trust me Gary, there is nothing I want more than to take you down in battle, but-"

"Then BRING IT! STOP STALLING!" the brunette yelled, his patience clearly running out as his eyes narrowed, pupils constricted.

"Gary WAIT!" Ash yelled, but it was too late.

"Blastoise! Let's Go!" he shouted as he threw his pokeball, releasing his now fully evolved starter.

"BLASTOISE!" the giant turtle shouted as he materialized, cocking the massive guns on his back almost instantly towards Ash. Both Trainer and Pokemon glared at their adversary, who had yet to move.

"WELL?!" Gary shouted, "Are you frozen in fear or something? MOVE! Release your Pokemon!"

"You Idiot! We can't battle in here!" Ash shouted as he gestured to their enclosed space. They were still on the top level of the Sprout Tower, which appeared to be the main room that allowed the whole Tower to work and function. Unfortunately, Gary didn't see or understand this. Either that, or he chose to ignore it. All he was focused on, was Ash.

"Blastoise, give this loser some motivation! Water Gun!"

As soon as the command left Gary's mouth, Ash sprung into action and grabbed a pokeball, "Aerodsactyl, GO!" he shouted as he threw his prehistoric pokemon out, who let out an ear splitting roar upon release, "Quick use Protect!"

Just as the powerful looking Watergun was on them, Aerodactyl flared her rocky wings and summoned a protective sea-green bubble over herself and her trainer. From within the bubble of Protect, Ash once again tried to reason with former friend and rival, "Come on Gary listen! This is not the time or the place to be doing this!"

Unfortunately, Gary wasn't listening, He was too crazed, too caught up in the prospect of finally battling and taking down one of his biggest rivals and arch enemy. He was determined to end this here and now.

"Oh but I beg to differ!" the young Oak growled, "no better setting than the top of Sprout Tower. Only in this place, in which new trainers make their beginnings, would it be fitting for you to meet your end!" He then pointed ,"Blastoise, HydroCannon!"

'BLAAASST!" The mighty tortoise yelled before shooting off the powerful water attack.

"Aero! protect again! Please!" Ash urged his rock type, who screeched as she hurried to put another shield up. in the mean time, Ash took out two more Pokeballs, "Gengar, Venomoth! Put them to sleep!"

in a flash, the ghost and bug type appeared from their balls and went to work with Hypnosis and Sleep Powder. Ash was trying to best to put Gary and his pokemon out of commission without doing harm to them or the Tower.

"What is going on here?!" A new, frantic sounding female voice said from behind them. Turning around, Ash saw a young woman in priestess outfit, obviously one of the one's that tending to the Tower, "Why are you battling up here, this is forbidden!" she said angrily as she looked at the situation

"It's not what you think ma'am, this is an emergency situation!" Ash explained, "a crazed trainer wanted by the League is here. Please evacuate the place immediately!"

"But-"

"Alakazam, Arcanine! take care of those pest! Psychic on Gengar and flamethrower on Venomoth!" Gary yelled as his eyes became almost pinpoint. If one looked closely, they would see his left eyes twitch every so often. He was determined to take Ash down at _all_ costs. No wonder Hypnosis didn't work..

At least Blastoise was down, Venomoth did his job well.

"Oh no!" the Preistess yelled at the sight of the incoming attacks.

"Gengar, Dark Pulse to shield then Ice Punch! Venomoth, Bug Buzz then Sleep Powder on Gary! Aerodactyl, Protect Venomoth is needed!" Ash yelled out his orders, then turned back to the priestess, "Get out of here, NOW! Evacuate! I'll hold him off!"

"Uhh..right!" the young woman said as she quickly left the floor.

Alakazam released a strong Psychic attack, managing to hit all three of Ash's Pokemon. Fortunately, thanks to Gengar's Dark Pulse, Venomoth's typing, and Aerodactyl's shield, the damage had been nullified a bit. Unfortunately, the force of the attack had caused some of the gears and cogs of the Tower to come loose.

Venomoth's Bug Buzz halted Arcanine in his tracks, making it yip and paw at his ears from the deafening and offensive sound.

"SNAP OUT OF IT!" Gary yelled, effectively bringing Arcanine back to be coherency long enough to unleash his flamethrower. Thanks to Aerodactyl's protect, the poison type was relatively unharmed.

Unfortunately, the resulting embers from the after math of the attack began to float through the room and onto the floor and beams. While most of them died out almost immediately, a few were trying to catch flame and grow. It also kept Venomoth's Sleep Powder from taking full effect.

Seeing this, Ash readied another ball, "Totadile, use-"

"PSYCHIC! SHADOW BALL! FIRE BLAST!"

All at once, Alakazam, the until now silent Umbreon, and Arcanine fired off some of their most powerful attacks, aimed straight at their trainer's worst enemy and his pokemon.

"BRACE YOURSELVES!" The young ACE shouted as the attacks came right at them, too fast to dodge or to counter.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Meanwhile, downstairs

"Everyone, I am sorry! We all must evacuate immediately!" the young priestess from earlier said as she addressed the crowd of visitors, "we have a very serious situation that is currently being -"

*BOOOOM!*

The entire building shook as an explosion sounded, making all of the Tower visitors and staff go into a panic mode, screaming and running for the nearest exits, knocking others down as they went.

"Sister Abbey!" another Priestess shouted over the deafening crowd, "What is going on?!"

"T-There are two trainers battling on the top floor, and one of them may be a criminal wanted by the League!" the Young Priestess responded with tears in her eyes. She just couldn't imagine how much damage had possibly been done to their beloved tower. Hopefully the swaying beam was still intact.

Unfortunately, her prayers seemed to have not been answered as the famous beam began to dangerously creak.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/

As the smoke cleared from around Ash and his crew, the damage was obvious. Fires had formed and were spreading fast, holes littered the walls, and Gary..

"Shit!" the boy said as he looked around at the devesation he had caused. What the hell was he thinking? "We'll settle this another time, Ashy-boy," the crazed Oak said with a growl, "Alakazam, teleport us outta here!"

"Kazam!" The pokemon nodded before its spoons started to glow. In a flash, Gay and his pokemon were gone.

"Damnit!," Ash cursed, before releasing more members of his team, "Totadile, Tentacruel, put out the flames! Gengar Find Gary if you can! Everyone else, stabilize the walls and the center beam! Everything depends on it!"

At their trainer's command, the pokemon got to work. While the water types put out the half a dozen fires that erupted from the explosion, the rest of the team were doing their best to makes sure that the Tower and its center beam didn't collapse around them.

There was a huge hole now in the wall next to the stairs, taking out the first few steps of the staircase. By looking at it, Ash could guess that it was big enough for Fearow to fly through, no problem.

The beam's supports had been damaged in the explosion, so Lucario, Magmar and Electabuzz were now keeping the already unstable beam in place while Ash tried to strengthen the support beams by tying them to undamaged beams with heavy duty rope. Scizor and Raichu set up broken planks and beams against the weakened walls and roof to keep them from collapsing inward, and Gengar was searching for Gary and his team, who seemed to have disappeared. More than likely they teleported to safety with Alakazam.

With a large amount of effort, the massive beam was in place ... for now anyway...

"Let's get outta here.. we've done all we can for now. We need to evacuate the area and find Gary," Ash told his team, who all nodded in agreement.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Downstairs, the priests and staff were all rushing to evacuate the Tower, which was becoming more and more unstable by the second. From the ceiling and rafters fell pieces of wood and timber knocked loose by the explosion. Small pockets of fire began to spread throughout the building. Children from the visiting school filled the air with their terrified screams.

"Everyone Please! Just calm down! Follow us outside quickly!" The Teacher yelled to her frightened, crying students. Slowly but surely, the people inside made it out with minimal injury. The last people seen coming out were the small number of priests that once inhabited the infamous Tower.

"Is.. is everyone accounted for?" The young female teacher asked out loud as she counted and named her students , 'Billy, Johnny, Amy, Bria- ...wait a minute.. ' she thought as panic began to seep in, "Where's Zacky?!"

/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Back inside, the fire began to spread at an accelerated rate, feeding hungrily on the old wood that made up the tower. The heavy cable, rope and wood that held the heavy swaying beam in place began to creek loudly and ominously, echoing throughout what was left of the building as they slowly lost their strength.

"We need to get out of here!" Ash called to his friends, "Totodile, lead the way down and put out any fires as we go. Electabuzz, Raichu, Lucario, you guys are on clean-up, use you attacks on any large obstacles in our way. Everyone else, return!"

The pokemon grunted as half of the team was sucked into their pokeballs, while the others bgan to move down the shaky stairs with their trainer. One the way down, the entire building shook ominously as another part of the ceiling fell, putting everyone on edge.

"what the hell? It's like the whole building's coming down.." The young ACE said as he looked around worriedly. THe pokemon around him nodded as they shared their trainer's train of thought. Even for an old building, the place was falling apart at an accelerated rate. Maybe because of all the metal and gears involved...

Totodile was trying his hardest to keep the flames at bay, while the others made sure that they had a clear path to the nearest exit.

"Raiii-CHU!" The electric mouse yelled as he blasted a pile of fallen wood away, sending it scattering.

Lucario and Electabuzz quickly followed suit as they cleared the way. The exit was in reach.

"Almost there!" Ash said triumphantly to his pokemon, who all cheered in response.

That's when they heard it.. a soft, whimpering noise, as if someone or something crying, that seemed to cut through the chaos that enveloped the room. Everyone immediately froze and turned their gaze over to the opposite end of the room. There, huddled in the corner, was a young boy, visibly shaking in a petrified state.

"SHIT!" the young league trainer yelled as he suddenly started rushing towards the boy, his pokemon right behind him.

As they ran, a crash was heard from above. Looking up, the group saw debris from the roof raining down upon them.

"Totodile! Lucario!"

Almost instantly, the little water type fired off a water gun attack, while Lucario shot off an Aura Sphere. The attacks met the incoming wood shower head on, effectively dispersing it into relatively harmless splinters.

Within seconds, Ash was in front of the shivering child, speaking as softly as possibly as he made sure the kid was ok, "It's alright. My name's Ash, I'm gonna get you outta here. Are you hurt?"

The boy sniffled and shook his head, "N- No..bu-but.. I wanna go hoooome!" the boy wailed as he began crying loudly.

"Heh, I hear you there.." the trainer said with a smile, "come on, let's get out of here," he said as he wrapped his arms around the dark haired boy and stood up, the boy safely in his arms. With a single nod of his head, the pokemon understood and made a circular formation around the two, giving them extra protection as they rushed towards the door.

"So, what's your name?" Ash asked the boy, attempting to take his mind off of the situation. It was hard with the rising heat and the falling pieces of debris, but he would try his best.

"M..my name is Zacky.." the boy said softy as tears still poured from his eyes

"Zachy, huh? That's a cool name." The ACE responded, "So what do you wanna be when you grow up?"

For the first time, the boy, now known as Zacky, put a small smile on his face, "I wanna be a Pokemon trainer!"

*CRASH!* Raichu Iron tailed a falling banister.

"Really now," Ash replied with a chuckle, "that sounds exciting. Being a pokemon trainer can be awesome and scary at the same time. It's also a lot of hard work."

"I know that!" the boy almost yelled, "I'm not stupid!"

*WOOSH!* Totodile and Tentacruel combine their attacks to put out a fire that came too close.

"Never said you were," Ash said with a small smirk as he protected the boy and watched his pokemon clear the doorway. After a few tense moments, they all stepped into the sunlight.

When Zacky opened his eyes, he saw his teacher and classmates running towards him, "Zacky!" the teacher called out as she opened her arms to him, "Thank Arceus, you're safe! We're were so worried about you." she said as she hugged her student. The woman nearly had a heart attack when she realized that one of her students was missing, so to see him safe and sound drove her to tears of joy. Ash couldn't help but smile at the scene. it was truly heartwarming, and he was glad he could help.. considering his failure at saving the Tower..

It was at that moment that a the fire department and Police department showed up and started putting out the fire and controlling the crowds, 'better late than never I guess...' the young ACE thought to himself before a Jenny started yelling over a MegaPhone, "EVERYONE BACK AWAY FROM THE BUILDING, LET THE FIRE/RESCUE TEAMS THROUGH! I REPEAT, CLEAR THE SCENE IMMEDIATELY!"

After watching the crowd follow the officer's instructions and disperse, Ash took a deep breath and let out a sigh, both of relief and anguish. Relief because the heart-stopping, tense part was over. Anguish because now he would have to explain what happened. This was not gonna be fun..

"oh well.." he said softly as he turned to his teammate that were still out of their balls, "time to face the music, or feed the dogs as Lance would say," he said with a weak chuckle as he recalled his pokemon and approached Officer Jenny.

This was gonna be a long night...

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

The morning was a welcoming sight for the young ACE trainer. Last night was one he would rather forget.

First, there was explaining what happened to the local Police and detectives, along with the resident Officer Jenny. Needless to say, they were not happy to find out that all of this havoc was caused by, in Jenny's words, 'Two reckless boys with no sense.' Of course, Ash didn't take kindly to that and _politely_ reminded Jenny that he tried his hardest to save the Arceus damned Tower. There was just too much damage done by Gary's final attack.. a lot more than anticipated.

That part got Ash to thinking.. was Gary truly that strong? Had he and his Pokemon really reached that high of a level? Or was there another factor he didn't know about? And how did Gary that he was here? Was is coincidence? Did he see him on the street? Possibly..

Anyways, back on subject..

After a 3-hour long interrogation by Jenny, where she had to ask him every single frivolous question she could think of to get every single detail, he had to report to Lance.

Yeah.. that wasn't pleasant. Lance was.. in a word, furious.

He was furious that Gary had caused so much damage to such a famous Johto landmark. The Sprout Tower was pretty much ruined. Only the famous beam itself, which somehow survived the blaze, could be salvaged. Still, the people of Violet City were optimistic and would build again.

He was also furious that his 'Star ACE trainer' had failed in obtaining one of their prime targets. That was like a slap to the face. No matter how much he tried to explain himself, Lance wouldn't hear it. The man could be very unreasonable at time. It didn't take long for Ash to snap..

/-/-/-/Flashback- last night\\-\\-\\-\

 _'What have I always told you, Ash?!' Lance yelled, 'Failure is never an option! No matter what the mission! NEVER!'_

 _"I know that, Lance.. but-"_

 _"Now the Sprout Tower is destroyed and Gary Oak is still on the loose! This is a complete disaster!"_

 _"Lance, listen, I-"_

 _"No, YOU listen! Do you have any idea what this could do to the League's reputation?! I have a good mind to pull your ACE status for this!"_

 _"Lance, if you would just listen a minute-" Ash tried again_

 _"I can't believe this! I guess I should've known better than to trust a boy with a man's job! You will report back to me at once and-"_

 _"ARCEUS DAMNIT, WILL YOU SHUT UP FOR TWO SECONDS!" Ash shouted, his entire face red as a tomato berry. Lance just stared at him, wide eyed. No one has talked to him like that in.. forever. He had always been given absolute respect, even from his superiors.. so this.. was shocking.._

 _"Now you Listen and you listen good!" Ash started, " I did everything I could to try and prevent that damned Tower from coming down! Why did I focus on the Tower?! Because there were people inside of it! And what's one of the top rules?! In the end, Saving lives is more important than catching a criminal, because a criminal can always be caught another day! Lance.." he then lowered his voice as his face softened, "There was an entire class of six and seven years olds in that Tower when Gary attacked.."_

 _For the first time in a long time, the Kanto/Johto Champion was speechless._

 _Ash then watched as he lowered his head in what appeared to be thought before saying something that genuinely surprised them both, "You're right.."_

 _"Huh?" Ash said with wide eyes_

 _"You're right.." Lance repeated, "You took the right action and made the correct choice, and because of it, probably saved a lot of lives." he then sighed, "and I.. well, shit, I'm sorry that I bit your head off like that..You more than deserve your ACE status."_

 _With that, Ash smiled for the first time that night, "thank you Lance.."_

/-/-/-/Flashback End\\-\\-\\-\

Ash could only sigh at the memory. By the time he got done with all of that crap, it was too late to try for his gym battle.

But today was a new day, and nothing was gonna stop him from his destined battle this time.

"Alright," Ash said to himself as he got ready, "Time to earn my first Johto Badge," he then smirked to himself, "Look out Falkner! You're about to become my first conquered milestone here in Johto!"

With a final tug and tie of his boots, he was ready. He had already picked his team of three, since he heard that Falkner tends to do 3 on 3 battles.

"Alright!" he said enthusiastically as he fastened his belt, "let's do this!"

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

The Violet Gym was actually pretty impressive looking. It more like a Tower from an Indian Palace than a gym. It was at least ten stories tall and looked to have a rounded, open roof. There were several windows on each floor, giving it more of a royal feel. It also bore the same color as the city, a bright, seamless violet.

Ash couldn't help but smirk as he looked up at the impressive Gym. Without a second thought, he released Totodile and headed inside.

Upon entry, a Gym trainer at a desk popped his head up and looked him over. The trainer looked about Ash's age, with brown hair and eyes. Nothing special to note about him.

The boy took one look at the Totodile at Ash's feet and snorted, just like Ash wanted.

"You hear for a gym battle?" The boy asked with a smirk,

"That's right," Ash said in a cocky tone of voice, "let your Gym Leader know that he has a challenger!"

The brown-haired boy just rolled his eyes before gesturing the young ACE to follow him up the Tower. and up the went..

and up..

and up...

AND up...

'Thank goodness for all of that condition training..' the young Raven thought to himself as they scaled the Gym's continuous flight of stairs. Next to him, Tototdile was starting to show some strain as he valiantly and stubbornly climbed the tower next to his trainer.

Finally, after what felt like forever, they reached the top floor, the battlefield.

The field itself was a very plain, standard pokemon battle field, with no obstacles or special features. The one thing that Ash did notice was the open roof.. scratch that, open everything. They were _on_ the roof, at the very top of the building.

"Impressive.." Ash said softly to himself, "A perfect field for flying types.."

"Falkner should be here any moment," the Gym trainer said, "I've already alerted him that he has a challenger. Once he arrives, we can get started."

No sooner than he said that...

"PIDGEOOOOO!" a shrill, somewhat familiar cry rang through the air. Looking up, the boys and Totodile could see a huge avian creature coming in fast towards them, and if one they looked closer, they could see that it had a passenger.

"there he is!" The gym boy said with a hint of Pride in his voice.

"Woah, that Pidgeot is HUGE!" Ash said in awe. Upon evolution the average Pidgeot stood at around five feet and couldn't support the weight of a full grown man. This one, however, seemed to put those statistics to shame. It looked to be almost six feet tall and obviously had no problem with supporting his trainer's weight.

As the massive bird came in for a landing, it flared its wings dramatically to slow its descent, making a perfect 3-point landing in the middle of the battlefield. As soon as its talons hit the ground, a man hopped down from off of its back.

The man appeared be about the same height his flying type, around 6 feet. He had blue-violet hair that appeared to be longer in the front than in the back, long enough to cover his right eye. He had sharp eyes that carried a focused look to them, and was wearing what appeared to be a traditional Samurai's Yukata.

"Welcome challenger to the Violet City Gym," Falkner greeted as he held out his hand, "My name is Falkner. Is this your first Gym battle?"

Ash smiled and nodded as he shook the man's hand, "sure is. My name is Ash Ketchum, nice to meet you."

Upon hearing his name, Falkner's eyes widened, "So you're the one I've been hearing so much about. The League has been throwing your name around for a while now. Don't get many details on Level II, but I've heard that you've already made quite a name for yourself here in Johto, especially here in Violet, ACE trainer."

Upon hearing that, the Gym trainer, who previously just thought that Ash was just another rookie, looked at him in shock and awe. Ash couldn't help but chuckle at both of their reactions, "thanks.. but I guess this means that my original strategy won't work here then. I was planning on you underestimating me and thinking me as a rookie." he said as he scratched the side of his face with his index finger.

Falkner just chuckled in return, "nope, sorry. And just so you know, that won't work for any other Gym Leader in Johto either. Lance has already asked that we try to push your team to its limits."

"Has he now... how.. nice of him," the young trainer said with a deadpanned look. Of course Lance would do that. The man loves making his life miserable.. Of course, he's always liked a challenge...

"So, are you ready to get started?" Falkner asked, to which in response, Ash just smirked.

"Definitely!"

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

"This will be a three on three battle between Falkner, the Violet City Gym Leader, and ACE trainer Ash from.."

"Orange Islands"

"The Orange Islands. A winner will be declared once all of one trainer's pokemon have been defeated or forfeited. The challenger is allowing to switch Pokemon while the Gym Leader is not. Do both parties understand?"

Both trainers nodded their heads.

"Trainers, call your pokemon!"

"Let's test the currents here, " Falkner said before calling his first pokemon out, "Hoothoot, to the sky!"

In a flash of light, a little brown owl-like pokemon with big red eyes appeared. The eyes were so big, that they seemed to take up a third of its tiny rounded body, and they were framed by thick, black markings that included three thick eyelashes on each side as well as arrow-like eyebrows that reminded him of clock hands. Another thing that Ash noted was that the plump little bird seemed to be hopping on one leg, the other probably in its feathers.

Finding the little bird interesting, Ash performed a scan.

 _"_ _ **Hoothoot, the Owl Pokemon.**_

 _It has a perfect sense of time. Whatever happens, it keeps rhythm by precisely tilting its head in time. It always stands on one foot, it changes feet so fast, that the movement can rarely be seen."_

Nodding at the information, Ash looked down at his feet at the ever ready Totodile and smiled, "ready bud?"

The water Type nodded rapidly before hopping forward, its little claws balled into fists as it shadow punched forward, making Falkner chuckle, "spirited little guy, I see now why you chose it. The slight type advantage doesn't hurt either. Still, I have the experience boost."

"We'll see.." was all Ash said before the Gym Trainer/Ref announced the matched.

"Begin!"

"You can have first move, Ash" Falkner said with a nod

"Gladly. Totodile, Scary Face!"

The water type seemed to smirk as it ran forward and made a twisted face towards the little Owl, causing it to freak out comically and flinch as its speed was reduced.

"Not bad.." the Gym Leader mumbled. Speed was a flying type's number one attribute, so slowing it down would definitely make things more difficult, "Hoothoot, snap out of it! Fly and use Hypnosis!"

The little brown owl quickly responded by focusing his wide eyes into a glare. It then used his stubby wings to take flight with impressive speed before its eyes began to glow. Ash knew he was in trouble if that attack hit, so he called out to his pokemon, "Totodile, don't look into its eyes! Watergun!"

The little crocodile looked away just in time, closing his eyes as he shot off his attack.

"Dodge it!" Falkner called.

Thanks to his mobility and Totodile's eyes being closed, Hoothoot was able to successfully dodge the attack.

"Again, to the left!" ASh called out, directing his pokemon, who nodded as redirected his attack.

Hoothoot, eyes still alit with power, managed to dodge again.

"Up!"

The water attack moved upwards before the stubby little owl had time to redirect and scored a direct hit. The little normal type trilled in pain as it was nearly brought back down to earth, but miraculously remained in the air.

"Stay strong Hoothoot! Use Growl, then go in for Peck!" Falkner commanded.

Hoothoot trilled lightly before letting out a slightly intimidating sound towards his opponent. Totodile merely dropped his glare and tilted his head in slight confusion at the sound before glaring again and snapping its giant jaws together. Seeing this, his trainer couldn't help but chuckle. It appeared as though because of the water type's aggressive nature, Growl had little to no effect on him.

Then, Hoothoot dashed forward with its beak aglow. Even with the added effect of Scary Face, the little bird was damned fast. It flew forward and began pecking Totodile on its huge head, making the water type cry out in pain and flail around as an attempt to get away.

"Don't take that, Totodile! Scratch, then Follow up with bite!"

The Big Jaw Pokemon growled in response and scratched the pesky bird right across its face, causing it to flinch in pain and back off slightly. The young water then put his famous jaws to work as it successfully bit down onto Hoothoot's midsection, making it cry out from the damage dealt.

"HootHoot!" Falker called out worriedly, "Hypnosis while its close!"

This time, Totodile didn't have time to close his eyes as the Owl Pokemon stared right at him. Within Seconds, he had let go of the normal type and fallen to the ground, sound asleep.

"TOTODILE!" Ash yelled in a vain effort to wake his pokemon up.

"Sorry Ash, but this one's mine. Hoothoot, finish this with Tackle!"

Hoothoot, still shaking off the pain from the bite, nodded and flew backwards a bit before coming in hot towards the sleeping Totodile.

"Totodile! You have to get up! NOW! PLEASE!" The young ACE yelled desperately to his newest pokemon. He could only watch as Hoothoot's tackle hit dead on, sending the Totodile flying backwards.

However, what neither expected was for the attack to have the opposite effect it was intended for. Instead of knocking the water type out, it woke him up. And Arceus was he pissed!

"Oh boy..." was all Ash could say as he and Falkner watched the battlefield.

Letting out a feral growl, the water type dashed forward, faster than before, and let out another, stronger, water gun. Hoothoot, still stunned from what just happened, couldn't dodge in time and took the powerful attack head on, knocking down with swirls in its eyes.

"Uh.. Hoothoot is unable to battle! Totodile wins!" The referee announce, slightly shocked at the turn of events.

Upon hearing the ref announce his victory, he young water type smirked and shot a torrent of water into the air, celebrating his victory. Ash just smiled and called out, "nice job Totodile, but we're not done yet. We got two more pokemon to go!"

In response, the water type nodded and steeled itself with a glare, apparently ready for anything

As Falkner returned his fallen pokemon, he smiled, "Not bad, nice way to turn the battle around. I'm guessing that Totodile is one of your latest captures?"

"mhm," Ash answered, "I got him on my first day in Johto"

"thought so. You've done a good job at training, though there's always room for improvement. He has quite a temper."

"Heh, yea" Ash nodded in agreement as he scratched the back of his head, "we're working on that"

"TOTODILE!" the little starter shouted. There was nothing wrong with his temper! He got mad just fine!

At the little pokemon's shout, both trainers chuckled, "it seems as though someone's losing his patience," the Gym Leader said as he pulled out his next ball, "let me introduce you to someone that has a similar temperament. Dodrio! To the skies!"

Out of the ball popped a brown, ostrich-like bird. It was brown feathers, long legs that ended in sharp talons, and three, yes three, heads, each with a different expression.

"Now that's a big bird.." Ash muttered as he scanned the bird

 _ **Dodrio: the Triple Bird Pokemon**_

 _An odd species that is rarely found. The three heads respectively represent Joy, Sadness, and Anger._

Now, from what Ash already knew about this pokemon, it had a very random and fragile temperament thanks to having three heads with different emotions attatched to them. If not properly trained, they could easily go out of control and wreak havoc on both sides of the battlefield. Of course, since this was Falkner's Dodrio, they shouldn't have that problem.

"Stay alert, Totodile, this won't be an easy fight," Ash called to his pokemon, deciding to keep him in. Even though he had a feeling Totodile wouldn't win this one, he had his reasons; 1, Totodile could still do some damage that'll help later; 2, it may knock some sense and calm into the water type; 3, the little guy would probably come after him if he took him out now, which it something he didn't want. Those teeth hurt like HELL!

The water starter nodded an affirmative at his trainer's word before smirking at his new opponent. Finally! A bigger fish, or in this case, bird, to fry.

"Dodrio vs. Totodile. BEGIN!"

"We'll start first this time, Ash, " Falkner announced before giving his first command, "Dodrio, Agility into Fury Attack!"

With speed that left Ash and Totodile almost speechless, the three headed avian took off across the field, almost disappearing, its three sharp beaks ready as it zig-zagged across the field.

"Oh boy..Totodile, Watergun at the ground!" Ash called, hoping to give his pokemon a temporary air advantage. It seemed to work as the initial attack barely missed.

"Sorry Ash, but that won't work on my Dodrio," Falkner smirked, as if he expected a trick like that, "Dodrio, to the air!"

"What?!" the ACE trainer called out in shock. Now, he may not have known everything about the species, but he did know that they sure as hell couldn't fly. Of course, no one seemed to bother to tell Dodrio that, as in seemed to take off into the air in an impressive leap.

"Totodile! Redirect your attack! It's coming straight for you!" Ash shouted worriedly to his pokemon.

At the last minute, the little blue croc heeded his trainer's words as re-aimed his water at the incoming ostrich. The Watergun hurt the flying type and slowed it down, but did not stop it as it came in full blast with Fury, pecking the poor starter all over and sending it flying.

"TOTODILE!" Ash shouted as his pokemon started falling back down to earth. Seeing no way out, Ash prepared to recall his pokemon, "Totodile, return!"

"Dodrio, Pursuit!" Falkner called out, determined to take the irate croc out of the battle. The attack landed with a clean, critical hit.

"Totodile, NO!" the young trainer said in despair as he watched his newest pokemon impact the ground, knocked out.

"Totodile is unable to battle! Dodrio Wins!" The ref announced

Hearing this, Falkner nodded with a smile, "nice work, Dodrio," he congratulated, to which the bird's heads cawed happily.

On the other side, Ash silently recalled his fallen pokemon as he went over in his head what the hell just happened. The move pursuit, a dark type move that only works when the opposing pokemon is escaping in some way. A brilliant strategy really.. sneaky, but none the less brilliant. Falkner really is trying to keep him on his toes.

Key word.. trying..

"Well played, Falkner. But I'm just getting warmed up." he said with a small smirk.

"I would hope so," the Gym Leader said, "I was honestly expecting more from one of Lance's ACE's. Then again, like you said, Totodile was your newest capture."

"Exactly," Ash responded with a glare, "let me introduce you to one of my first captures," with that said, he threw out his next ball, "Fearow, to the battlefield!"

In a flash of light, the massive Beak Pokemon made its appearance, cawing out its dominance over the field. Upon seeing the large avian, Falkner hummed in approval, "very nice Fearow, Ash. Looks strong and well taken care of."

"Thanks," Ash nodded, "like I said, he was one of my first captures. Now let us show you what we can really do!" he shouted, as Fearow cawed in agreement.

"Dodrio vs Fearow! Begin!"

"I think we'll go first this time," Ash announced before calling out his first command, "Fearow, Aerial Ace!"

"We can't dodge, so meet it head on with Fury Attack!" Falkner called out in return.

Almost immediately, both pokemon dashed forward, with Fearow disappearing in a flash of speed, and Dodrio's eyes taking on a red hue.

*CRASH!*

Both attacks met head on, with both struggling for power, before Aerial Ace pushed through and completely overpowered the three headed bird, sending it flying backwards.

"Dodrio! Try and recover, then use Agility and Drill Peck!"

"Fearow, charge Tri Attack and hold it!" Ash called out, confusing the ref and Gym Leader. As they looked on, Fearow opened his beak and formed three small balls of concentrated energy, but did not fire.

"Huh? What are you.." the man then went wide eyed, "Dodrio, stop the attack!"

He was too late, however, as Dodrio, speedy and agile as it was, was already in the air, barreling towards its opponent. Ash had turned his strategy against him.

"Now Fearow! Let it rip!" Ash said with a smile. The Beak Pokemon grunted as he released the energy and shot it towards the incoming ostrich, who was too close to dodge.

"DRIO!" It yelled as it was pummeled by the triple elemental attack and sent crashing back down to the ground.

"Dodrio!" Falkner called out worriedly. Unfortnately for him, Ash was not in a merciful mood.

"Alright, finish it with one more Aerial Ace!" the boy said triumphantly as his flying type did a loop to pick up speed before coming in fast. Dodrio was absolutely helpless as the critical hit landed, sending it smacking into the field, knocked out.

"Dodrio is unable to battle! Fearow Wins!"

As Falkner , recalled his pokemon, he congratulated it before turning to Ash, "well played young ACE. I now see that I am dealing with no amateur. But now, you must face my most powerful partner," he said as he brought out his final ball, "Pidgeot, to the skies!"

In a flash, the same bird that Ash had seen the man riding earlier appeared, cawing out its dominance, "PIDGEOOOT!"

Seeing this, both Ash and Fearow narrowed their eyes as they sized up their new opponent. As said before, it was definitely bigger than the average Pidgeot, and no doubt faster. The shine on its feathers indicated that it was well taken care of, and its beak and Talons looked sharp enough to cut through almost anything.

'Oh yeah,' Ash thought with a smirk, 'this is gonna be a hell of a fight.'

"Pidgeot vs Fearow! Begin!"

"Alright Pidgeot, let's get started, "Falkner said, "Send that Fearow off balance with Whirlwind!"

The large Bird Pokemon chirped before flapping its wings in huge, quick strides, sending a Whirlwind attack strong enough to compare to a hurricane towards its adversary.

Ash only said one thing, and Fearow immediately understood, "Ride it!"

"Huh?" Falkner said to himself, confused and intrigued. Imagine is surprise when the large Beak Pokemon starting actually riding the currents. _Riding them_ like they were mere breezes on a summer day.

"What?!" the gym leader called out in shock, making Ash chuckle a bit, "more tricks where that came from, Falkner. Fearow, after it!"

"Pidgeot, Fly! You're the faster one!" Falkner said, "Get some distance and use your newest move!"

"Fearow, cut 'em off at the pass! Aerial Pursuit!"

"Aerial what?!" Both the Gym Leader and Ref uttered in disbelief.

With narrow eyes, Fearow cawed loudly before surrounding himself in dark and light colored energy before speeding forward so fast, that his form flickered out. So fast, that no matter how quickly Pidgeot was moving, it couldn't flee.

*BAM!*

"GEOOOOT!" The bird cawed in pain as Fearow hit him square in the back, sending him spiraling.

"Pidgeot!" Falkner called out, "quick, front loop to recover! Then Use it!"

Despite the damage taken, Pidgeot managed to recover fairly quickly before about facing towards Fearow and flapping its wings again, this time releasing a purple energy from its wings along with a fierce, damaging wind.

"Fear?!" the Beak pokemon squawked in confusion before it was swept up and pushed back by the strange, harsh wind, quickly realizing that he couldn't ride these currents out like before.

"Fearow!" Ash said worriedly as he watched the purple hued winds form a cyclone around his pokemon, "...twister.." he grimly realized as he watched, "stay strong Fearow, ride the current as best as you can, then return the favor!"

The Beak Pokemon grunted in confirmation as he tried his best to ride the turbulent, unpredicatble currents, taking damage, but not as much. Then seeing an opening in the cyclone, he shot forward into the light of the battlefield. Once he emerged, the Twister attack immediately died down, having lost its quarry.

"Way to go!" Ash congratulated, "now, return the favor! Mirror Move!"

The brown avian seemed to smirk as he carried out the order, flapping his wings to form his own 'Tornado of hurt', albeit less polished that Pidgeot's but no less powerful, and sent it forwards.

"Pidgeot, fly around it! Don't get close!" Falkner commanded. The Bird Pokemon nodded as it flew around the Twister attacks, wincing as the vortex tried to pull it in, only to meet face to face with the sneaky Fearow.

"Geot!?" it yelped in surprise as it changed directions away from the aggressive bird.

"Pursuit!" Ash called out, "Then finish this with Drill Peck!" Ash called out, "Give it all you got!"

Though on the outside, he was confident, on the inside, Ash was starting to get a little worried. This was the first major battle Fearow had fought in a while, and he was no doubt tiring out. While not obvious to anyone else, Ash could see the little hint that Fearow was starting to run out of steam, especially after that Mirror Move for Twister. They would have to finish fast!

"Pidgeot! Turn around and counter with Wing attack!" Falkner said to his partner

Pidgeot trilled in response as it quickly turned its body around, wing alit with power and met the incoming Fearow head on. The attacks clashed, making a small explosion between the two flyers, before they both backed away from each other, looked tired and ragged.

"I have to say Ash, this was one of the best battles I've ever had," the gym leader sad with a smile, "but as they say, all good things must come to an end."

"I couldn't agree more," Ash said with a smile. They probably both knew that Ash would get the badge since he still had one pokemon he hadn't used, but the aerial battle itself was coming to a close, and it would be one that they would both remember.

"Let's end this with a bang! Pidgeot! Wing attack!"

"Fearow, we've saved the best for last! Your newest move! Drill Run!"

In twin flashes, both Pokemon headed for each other, one with its wings glowing brightly, the other with its Beak somehow rapidly spinning and glowing. The attacks met with a loud crash and a burst of white light.

"FEAROW!"

"PIDGEOT!"

The next thing anyone saw were the two brave flying types falling back down to earth.

Surprisingly, at the sound of their trainer's frantic voices, both Pokemon's eyes snapped open, and they managed to slow their descent with a flare of their wings. As soon as they landed on the ground, both pokemon stared at each other.

Then, Pidgeot smiled and nodded to his fellow flyer before falling forward, swirls in its eyes, with Fearow following soon after.

"Both Pokemon are unable to battle! Since Challenger Ash has one Pokemon left, he wins the match!"

"Yes!" Ash said as he ran out to the field to check on his fallen Pokemon. Falkner did the same as he toward towards Pidgeot.

"Fearow?" Ash said softly as his Pokemon slowly woke up. After making sure he was ok, the young trainer smiled and put his forehead to Fearow's, "You were awesome. I couldn't have asked for more."

"Fearow.." the avian said softly, a smile spreading across its jagged beak.

"Ash," called Falkner as he walked over to the two, "As I said before, that was one of the best battles I've ever had," he then pulled something out of his pocket, "You are more than deserving of this. I present you the Zephyr Badge"

Ash smiled brightly as he took the badge in hand. It looked like a pair of stylized wings in the shape of a hexagon. Strangely appropriate.

With badge in hand, Ash stood up and nodded in respect, "Thank you, Falkner. This means a lot to me."

The man chuckled, "no need to thank me. You've earned it after all."

By this point, Fearow had gain enough of his energy back to stand and peered at the tiny object in his trainer's hands. Ash was more than happy to show it off to him, "take a look Fearow. Thanks to you, we're one step closer to the Silver Conference!"

"Row!" it cawed as it smiled with its eyes.

Falkner couldn't help but smile along with them. Yes, this boy will go far. He was stronger than most his age and getting stronger. He already couldn't wait for this year's league

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Back at the Indigo Plateau, a lone guard walked down one of the many long corridors that made up the lower levels of the regional building.

It was in these dark hallways that the League kept some of their most guarded secrets, or in this case, some of their highest priority criminals.

Among these cells were some pretty famous names. Names that once stood for greatness and/or fear, but now are behind bars, safe from the public.. supposedly.

"So you're saying that the brat that stopped your plans for power, is the same one that put you here?" a man with brushed back brown hair said.

"Exactly, the exact same one." An older man with whitening hair responded from about 4 doors down, his voice echoing off the cold, white walls.

"hmm.." the first man hummed in thought, "well this just won't do.."

"My thoughts exactly," the older man said, "so, any plans?"

"Oh, many.." the first, younger man said with a smirk, "first, to get out of here..."

"HEY! QUIET OVER THERE!" The Lone guard yelled, stopping chatter.

Almost immediately, both men retreated back into their cells. As the guard watched them cautiously, he let out a groan of frustration. Honestly, whose bright idea was it to put those two together anyway? 

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

 **Ok, first of all...**

 **I am SO SO SORRY that this took so long. My days have been consisting of work eat, sleep, more work, and a half hour of writing, tops.**

 **But it should be getting better soon, as my work load is about to lighten up, finally! Hopefully it stays that way. All I had to do was threaten my superior with a two-week notice..**

 **Anyways, I am going to try to speed up my updates, and maybe just focus on one story for a while. I know most of you guys love all of my stories, but I want to further this one a little more while I come up with good ideas for the others.**

 **I hope you can all forgive me :/**

 **Anyways, please review and fav if you like. No Flames please!**


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